British Parliament to Vote on Recognition of Palestinian State

The House of Commons will vote to affirm the position, which has been endorsed by members of the opposition. Recognition of a Palestinian state has garnered support this past week, however the Foreign Ministry has referred to the vote as ‘symbolic’, and will thus not likely to effect the UK’s foreign policy

Oct 13, 2014, 10:32AM | Jacob Northbrook

British Parliament, archives Reuters

Palestinian Diplomatic War Wages On: Today (Monday) the British House of Commons will vote on recognition of a future Palestinian state. Sources in the UK have referred to the vote as “symbolic and nonbinding,” however were the motion to pass, such would mark an important victory for Abu Mazen in his efforts for Palestinian Independence. 24 pro-Israel members of the House submitted an amended version of the legislation, which has yet to be accepted.

The pro-Israel contingent in the House has requested of the Speaker, John Bercow, to determine that British support would be conditional on a Palestinian state formed by a bilateral peace agreement with the State of Israel. Bercow has yet to respond to the recommendation, which is meant to soften the original proposition of recognition.
“Britain maintains the right to recognize a Palestinian state at any time, so long as this serves the purpose of peace- we continue to believe that negotiations which lead to two states for two peoples, are the only solution to the conflict,” read a statement by the Foreign Ministry.
Head of the opposition, and leader of the Labour Party, Ed Milliband, attempted to secure support for the proposition by enforcing party discipline thereby compelling members of his party to support the motion. Meanwhile, select members of the Labour party asked to ‘rebel’ against the party and vote independently, or remain absent for the vote itself. Other members criticized Milliband for introducing drastic changes to a foreign policy which has been otherwise “measured and responsible.”