French Lawmakers Debate Recognition of Palestine as State
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - French lawmakers will debate a proposal on Friday to recognize Palestine as a state in a move aimed at pushing for "a definitive resolution of the conflict". The non-binding motion is expected to pass a lower house vote December 2.
French officials have said that extending state recognition to the Palestinian territories could help promote peace between the Palestinians and Israel. The text "invites the French government to use the recognition of the state of Palestine as an instrument to gain a definitive resolution of the conflict".
The symbolic motion is expected to pass comfortably on December 2 when the lower house of parliament votes on the text proposed by the ruling Socialists.
The vote comes soon after similar resolutions approved by British lawmakers on October 13 and Spanish MPs on November 18, and the formal recognition of Palestine by Sweden on October 30.
The measure is non-binding on the government, although Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told AFP in a recent interview that France would "obviously, at a certain moment, recognise the Palestinian state".
The Socialist MP who drafted the text, Elisabeth Guigou, said the aim was to "reaffirm that the two-state solution is the best guarantee for peace".
"If we do not act now, there is a risk of entering into an irreversible cycle of violence and transforming this territorial conflict into a regional conflict," she told AFP.
"Nothing would be worse for the region and for Europe."
Ahead of the vote, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned France it would be making a "grave mistake" if it recognised Palestine.