British parliament to vote on recognizing Palestinian state

The British parliament is due to vote on whether to recognize the state of Palestine shortly after it returns from recess on October 13, according to Middle East Monitor.

Called by MP Grahame Morris, chair of the Labor Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, the debate will present the case for calling on the government to recognize the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel. Members of parliament will then vote on whether to support the motion.

The background to the vote is growing disenchantment with government policy on Israel and the Palestinians following the summer war in Gaza, which peaked with the resignation of leading Conservative minister Baroness Warsi.

Writing in the New Statesman magazine recently, several leading Conservative MPs, including Baroness Morris, called on the government to support the motion.

The Labor party has indicated in the past that it would support the recognition of a Palestinian state. Opposition leader Ed Miliband even urged Prime Minister David Cameron to support the Palestinian bid for United Nations recognition when it was discussed in the House of Commons,

If the U.K. does vote to recognize a Palestinian state it will be the first European country to do so following Spain, which passed a similar resolution in 2011.

Source: Haaretz