Spanish MPs Call for Recognizing Palestine
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Spanish lawmakers overwhelmingly adopted a motion calling on the government to recognize a Palestinian state, following similar moves in other European nations.
The vote on Tuesday night was 319 in favour with two opposed and one abstention.
The motion submitted by the opposition Socialists asks the conservative government to recognize Palestine in coordination with any similar move by the European Union.
The symbolic motion, which echoes similar votes last month in Britain and Ireland, was backed by all the political groupings in the lower house after the ruling People's Party (PP) watered down the wording.
The non-binding text brought by the Socialists was initially an outright call to recognize a Palestinian state and had angered the Israeli government, Al Jazeera reported.
But Beatriz Rodriguez-Salmones of the PP, which holds an absolute majority in the lower house, told the debate her party would not back a unilateral recognition of the Palestinian state "at a time of intense pain for Israel".
"It is not the right time to seek a unilateral recognition. Peace and a peaceful cohabitation between two states are the objective ... The method is a negotiation between the two," she said.
The text that was adopted said: "The parliament urges the government to recognize Palestine as a state ... This recognition should be the consequence of a process negotiated between the parties that guarantees peace and security for both, the respect of the rights of the citizens and regional stability."
