Norway is likely to recognize Palestine as an independent state if the Labor Party wins the next parliamentary elections, the party's leader said at its annual conference.
Labor Party leader Jonas Gahr Støre said in a speech, “If we receive the mandate to govern, we are open to recognizing a Palestinian state. Palestinians have a right to their own state. We should be careful not to sit here in Norway prescribing other solutions,” media reported.
Norway has long been involved as a peace broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, initiating the secret negotiations in Oslo which led to the first Oslo accord in 1993.
The accord marked the first time that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the state of Israel formally recognized one another.
