News / EU

Greek lawmakers vote to recognize Palestinian statehood

Tuesday, 22 December 2015 2:37 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 22 December 2015 2:37 PM ]

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech at the Greek parliament in Athens, Greece, December 22, 2015. ©Reuters

The Greek parliament has passed a non-binding resolution urging the government to formally recognize the state of Palestine.

Nikos Voutsis, the speaker of the Greek parliament, said all parties voted in favor of the motion on Tuesday.

The voting session was held in the presence of visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who later addressed the parliament.

The resolution calls on Athens to "promote appropriate procedures for the recognition of a Palestinian state and every diplomatic effort for the resumption of discussions for peace" in the region, Voutsis said.

Earlier this week, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras described Abbas' visit to his country as a sign of the "strengthening" of traditionally historic relations between the two states.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (L) welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before their meeting in Athens, Greece, December 21, 2015. ©AP

The Greek premier announced that Greece would no longer refer in official documents to the Palestinian Authority, but rather Palestine.

Over the past months, other European legislatures, including those of the UK, France, Spain, Ireland, Belgium and Portugal, have recognized the Palestinian state. In December 2014, the European Parliament overwhelmingly supported the recognition of the Palestinian statehood “in principle.”

In late September, Palestine's flag was hoisted for the first time at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

On November 29, 2012, the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade Palestine’s status at the UN from “non-member observer entity” to “non-member observer state” despite strong opposition from the Israeli regime and the United States.

Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank including East al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip and are demanding that Israel withdraw from the occupied Palestinian lands. The Tel Aviv regime, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of al-Quds.

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