Greek lawmakers to vote today on recognition of Palestine

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Monday 21 Dec 2015 - 10:23 Makkah mean time-10-3-1437 Athens (IINA) – Greek parliament is expected to vote to recognize the state of Palestine in a session to be attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the capital Athens, after parliament’s foreign affairs committee unanimously approved a motion last week to recognize Palestine. A Greek government source said Sunday that the vote on Palestine will be held on Tuesday, AFP reported. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who started on Sunday a three-day visit to Athens, will attend the voting session on Tuesday. He is also set to meet President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Abbas is accompanied by Foreign Minister Dr Riyad al-Maliki, Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh and Diplomatic Adviser to the President of Palestine Majdi Al-Khaldi. Tsipras traveled to Palestine last month, where he met with both President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During 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 also overwhelmingly backed the recognition of a Palestinian state “in principle.” Back in June, Athens announced that its officials would begin using the term “Palestine.” “We decided to issue instructions throughout the Greek public administration for the uniform use of the term ‘Palestine’ when we refer to our friendly country,” Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said then. AB/IINA