Spanish lawmakers reportedly to vote on Palestinian state

The parliament in Spain is set to soon follow on the heels of the British legislature and vote on recognizing a Palestinian state, the Al Arabiya news site reported Thursday.

On Monday, British lawmakers voted resoundingly in favor of a Palestinian state, in a debate unlikely to change government policy but laden with political symbolism.

The vote was especially symbolic given that Britain was the mandatory power in Palestine from 1920-1948, when the State of Israel was founded, and that Britain’s Balfour Declaration of 1917 was a significant milestone en route to the revival of Jewish statehood.

The House of Commons debate was closely watched around the world after Sweden drew anger from Israel this month for saying it would recognize Palestine.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has been trying to enlist support for a United Nations Security Council draft resolution setting November 2016 as the deadline for ending Israel’s occupation of lands sought for a Palestinian state.

The draft resolution is an expression of Palestinian frustration with the repeated failure of US-led negotiations with Israel on the terms of a Palestinian state. The last round broke down in the spring, after nine months of fruitless talks in which the two sides couldn’t agree on the ground rules.

Reports in Israel on Wednesday said the US is looking to get Israel to agree to renew peace talks with the Palestinians based on the 1967 lines, as a way of checking Ramallah’s UN bid for statehood.

Israel has voiced vehement opposition to the Palestinian Authority’s bid to seek international recognition independently of peace talks, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning this week that unilateral moves would “bring about a further deterioration in the situation – something none of us want.”

News agencies contributed to this report.