Israel slammed the vote of a non-binding resolution by the Irish parliament calling on the government to recognize an independent Palestinian state.
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon expressed disappointment at the decision, accusing the Irish parliament of giving voice to "statements of hatred and anti-Semitism directed at Israel in a way which we have not heard before."
Some Irish MPs accused Israel of ''genocide'' during the parliamentary debate on Palestinian recognition.
The resolution was proposed by the opposition Sinn Fein party. The motion calls on the government to "officially recognize the State of 'Palestine,' on the basis of the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital, as established in UN resolutions, as a further positive contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." It also recognizes that "continued Israeli settlement construction and extension activities in the West Bank, is illegal and severely threatening the establishment of a viable Palestinian state."
Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan said that Ireland is considering early recognition of Palestinian statehood as a possible tactic for kick-starting Middle East peace talks.
Lawmakers in Britain, France and Spain already have passed similar motions calling on their governments to follow Sweden, which on Oct. 30 ignited debate by becoming the first European Union member to recognize Palestinian statehood.
I've no difficulty in principle with the idea of early recognition, if I believe it can contribute to achieving a settlement of the conflict," Flanagan told lawmakers. "The present stalemate is not acceptable."
Flanagan said Ireland still hoped to make the move as part of a wider Israeli-Palestinian accord, not before it or unilaterally in advance of achieving an EU consensus.
"Achieving and recognizing a Palestinian state has always been the objective of the Irish government. Everything we do in the Middle East is directed towards that aim," he told a virtually empty parliamentary chamber, with barely a dozen lawmakers present in the 166-seat hall.
Most represented the opposition Sinn Fein, an Irish nationalist party with strong Palestinian links.
On Thursday, France's Senate narrowly approved a resolution calling on the government to recognize a Palestinian state.
French senators voted 153-146 in favor of the non-binding resolution. The lower house of France's Parliament adopted a similar measure last week but by a much larger margin.
During its plenary session in Strasbourg next week, the 751-member European Parliament is expected to vote whether to recognize a Palestinian state.