Spanish Lawmakers to Vote on Palestine Statehood
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Spanish parliament will reportedly vote on recognizing Palestine as a sovereign state.
According to media reports, the move by the Spanish parliament comes nearly a week after British lawmakers voted in favor of recognizing Palestine as a state.
On October 13, the British Members of Parliament voted in favor of the motion with a majority of 274 to 12 after a six-hour debate, Press TV reported.
Throughout the debate, the plight of the Palestinians was reportedly highlighted by many MPs.
Meanwhile, the UK ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould, said public sentiment in Britain and around the world has shifted against Israel following its recent 50-day onslaught on the Gaza Strip.
The British envoy said the parliamentary vote in favor of Palestinian statehood was “significant” because it reveals negative attitudes toward the Tel Aviv regime.
“I think it is right to be concerned about what it signifies in terms of the direction of public opinion,” Gould stated.
On October 3, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven also announced during his inauguration speech in parliament that his administration would formally recognize Palestine as a sovereign state.
The Palestinians are trying to enlist support for a UN Security Council draft resolution. The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said in an interview with The Associated Press on October 2 that the Palestinian national unity government has asked the UN Security Council “to force Israel to negotiate in good faith the end of occupation within a time frame.”
He added that Palestinians expect the council to adopt a draft resolution that leads to the pullout of the Israelis from the occupied Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, the besieged Gaza Strip and East al-Quds (Jerusalem), by November 2016.
On November 29, 2012, the 193-member United Nations General Assembly voted to upgrade Palestine’s status to non-member observer state.
Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East al-Quds, and the Gaza Strip and are demanding that Israel withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories.
