Denmark–Palestine relations refers to the contacts between

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and the

Palestinian Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and s ...

. Denmark has a representative office in

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerus ...

. The State of Palestine has a semi diplomatic Mission with the rank of ambassador in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

. However, Denmark has not recognized Palestine's existence and rights to sovereignty, therefore prohibiting actual relations and has somewhat antagonized the Palestinian Authority at times.

Recognition of the State of Palestine

On 29 November 1947, Denmark voted for the

United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations, which recommended a partition of Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted the Plan as R ...

, supporting the division of Palestine into two states. In December 2010, the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

asked Denmark to recognize the state with its 1967 borders. In January 2011, Denmark with

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

said that they would soon recognize the State of Palestine, and on 9 March,

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Nati ...

visited Denmark for the first time, to discuss bilateral relations between Denmark and Palestine. During the visit, Danish Foreign Minister

Lene Espersen Lene Espersen (born 26 September 1965) is a former Danish politician, a former leader of Conservative People's Party and a former Minister of Justice. She is the current CEO at the Danish Association of Architectural Firms. From 1 July 2016 to ...

stated that Denmark was not considering recognizing the State of Palestine. On 29 May, the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

revealed that if they win the next

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, they will recognize the State of Palestine. In August, it was still unknown if Denmark would vote no or yes for an Independent Palestinian state in the United Nations. On 15 September 2011, the Social Democrats won the 2011 Danish elections, and expressed support for the Palestinian membership in the UN, but waited for a joint decision in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

. On 22 September 2012, hundreds of

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

demonstrated in front of the

Folketing The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature ( parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands ...

. The Palestinian ambassador to Denmark said: "This recognition will enhance Danish-Arab relations and will reflect support of the Danish people for the Palestinian bid to UN". In October 2012, Denmark abstained from voting in the resolution for Palestine in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

. The Danish Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) is a supporter of an independent Palestinian state, but no other party represented in the Folketing has Danish recognition of Palestine as its party line.

Danish development assistance

Denmark provides assistance to the occupied Palestinian Territories in the following three ways. * Denmark continues to participate in the peace process, promoting the

Roadmap for Peace The Roadmap for peace or road map for peace ( he, מפת הדרכים ''Mapa had'rakhim'', ''Khāriṭa ṭarīq as-salāmu'') was a plan to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict proposed by the Quartet on the Middle East: the United State ...

among other initiatives. Th
PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department
is on such peace building initiative which Denmark supports. * Denmark supports the creation of a sovereign, democratic, and peaceful Palestinian state. Denmark currently supports organizations which are bringing about the preconditions for these ideals, such as fighting corruption, increasing human rights, and ensuring free and fair elections. * Denmark seeks to improve the living conditions in Palestine through supporting private sector development. Denmark is currently supporting smaller local councils in the

Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had ...

area through amalgamation and

capacity building Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms ''capacity building'' and ''capacity development'' ha ...

. An increase in economic integration between the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and Israel is also a goal of the Danish. * In May 2017, the Palestinian Authority via its organisation Women's Affairs Technical Committee (WATC) named a women's center in the town of Burqa after Mughrabi and celebrated her as a

role model A role model is a person whose behaviour, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The term ''role model'' is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton, who hypothesized that individuals compare themselves ...

. The center was built with the aid of the government of

and

UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women advocates for the rights of women and girls, and foc ...

. The Danish

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

started its own investigations of WATC and found it had withheld central information about the naming of the centre and terminated the working relationship with WATC. As a result of the findings, the Danish ministry also ceased its funding of 23 other NGOs in Palestine as of 1 January 2018.

Palestinians in Denmark

In the 1980s, During the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

, 19,000 Palestinian refugees fled to Denmark. 1000 of them were from

Lubya Lubya ( ar, لوبيا "bean"), sometimes referred to as Lubia, was a Palestinian Arab town located ten kilometers west of Tiberias that was captured and destroyed by Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War where its residents were forcefully eva ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denmark-Palestine Relations

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

Bilateral relations of the State of Palestine

Recognition of the State of Palestine

Danish development assistance

Palestinians in Denmark

See also

References