Spain to Vote on Recognition of 'Palestine'

Spain to Vote on Recognition of 'Palestine'

Spain's parliament will vote next week on a non-binding resolution to recognize a Palestinian state.

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By Ben Ariel

First Publish: 11/14/2014, 3:12 AM

Spain (illustration)

Reuters

Spain is following in the footsteps of several other European countries, and its parliament plans to hold a vote next week on a resolution to recognize a Palestinian state, The Associated Press (AP) reported on Thursday.
The non-binding, largely symbolic resolution, presented by the Socialist opposition party, will be debated in parliament on Tuesday, and it appears the governing conservatives will support it.
It would follow moves in other European countries intended to increase pressure for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Arab conflict.
British lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on October 13 in favor of a non-binding motion to "recognize the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution".
Sweden announced on October 30 it officially recognized the state of Palestine, a move criticized by Israel and the United States.
France, meanwhile, announced on Wednesday that lawmakers will vote on November 28 on a proposal by the Socialist Party urging the government to recognize Palestine as a state.
The Palestinian Authority estimates that 134 countries have now recognized Palestine as a state, although the number is disputed and several recognitions by what are now European Union member states date back to the Soviet era.