The situation in the Middle East will be debated in the European Parliament next Wednesday in Strasbourg with the 751 MEPs to vote the following day on whether or not the EU should recognize a Palestinian state.
The question of the recognition of a Palestinian state will be debated with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini who has recently visited Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
The draft resolution to be discussed by the European Parliament comes after a decision by the new centre-left government in Sweden to recognize a Palestinian state – the first EU member state to make such a move – and symbolic votes in the parliaments of Britain, Ireland and Spain in favor of such a recognition.
The parliaments in France and Denmark are also slated to hold a similar vote in the next few days.
Israel called Sweden’s move "a very unfortunate decision" and recalled its ambassador to Sweden shortly afterward.
The initiative to call on the EU to recognize a Palestinian state came from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the second largest group in the parliament. Gilles Pargneux, a French Socialist MEP, who initiated the resolution, said: ''The rise of tension in Jerusalem but also the destabilization of the entire Middle East with Daesh (IS), obliges us to act. In view of the resumption of the colonization in the West Bank and growing violence in East Jerusalem, we must send a strong political signal. A recognition of a state of Palestine must enable a sustainable appeasement between Israelis and Palestinians.''
The resolution “urges all EU member states to recognize the State of Palestine on the basis of the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as the capital."
The president of the S&D group, Italian Gianni Pitella has declared that the recognition was the only solution to ending the conflict in a way that would benefit both parties.
He added that the EU should be more involved in the peace process and must recognize Israel and "Palestine" as two states living side by side.
Among other European Parliament's political groups, consultation is ongoing to issue a joint resolution, acccording to parliament sources. The decision and the voting instructions will be between 24 and 26 November, the day of the debate.
The Radical Left (GUE NGL, 52 members), the Socialists (S & D, 191 members) and the Greens (Greens/EFA, 50 members) are broadly in favor of the resolution, while the EPP (Christian Democrats), the main group in the EU Parliament (221 members), should be opposed as are the Conservatives and Reformists (ECR, 70 members) while the Liberals (ALDE, 67 members) are divided on the subject.
The MEPs from the far-right and eurosceptic parties, could tip the balance.
Israel’s ambassador to the EU, David Walzer, stressed that a recognition would not not help bring Israel and the Palestinians to the negotiating table but only push the two sides to distant corners.
Walzer warned that if the European Parliament does recognize Palestine as a state Israel will view "Europe's decision as anti-Israel."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson, Mark Regev, told visiting European journalists this week that instead of pushing the peace process such a move ‘’would undermine it.’’
France's parliament is also eyeing such a resolution in a vote later this week, which Netanyahu called "irresponsible" and a "grave mistake."
"Do they have nothing better to do at a time of beheadings across the Middle East, including that of a French citizen?" he told i24news channel on Sunday, in reference to French citizen Herve Gourdel who was executed by his jihadist captors in Algeria in September.
Even if adopted by the European Parliament, the resolution will not be binding on EU countries.
During a visit to Gaza last month, the European Union's new foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called for the establishment of a Palestinian state, saying the world "cannot afford" another war in Gaza.
"We need a Palestinian state - that is the ultimate goal and this is the position of all the European Union," she declared.
European frustration is growing over Israel's settlements activity while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed international charges that is detrimental to peace efforts.
Earlier this week, EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels issued a statement warning that ‘’the future development of the relations with both the Israeli and Palestinian partners will also depend on their engagement towards a lasting peace based on a two state solution.’’