Former Israeli ambassador Alon Liel has said Spain’s move to recognise a Palestinian state could “ignite the momentum that might lead to overall European and UN recognition”, AFP reports.

If so, “Spain would become a meaningful player towards a new diplomatic momentum for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” wrote Liel, a former director-general of the Israeli foreign ministry, in an opinion piece for Madrid’s Real Instituto Elcano think tank.

In 2014, the Spanish parliament had called on the right-wing government at the time to recognise a Palestinian state, just a few weeks after Sweden became the first EU member in western Europe to do so.

Sweden’s recognition mirrored earlier moves by six other European countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania.