EU backs Palestinian state and removes Hamas from terrorist blacklist

The European Parliament overwhelmingly backed the recognition of a Palestinian state “in principle” on Wednesday, following a series of votes on the issue in EU nations that have enraged Israel. Lawmakers approved the motion by 498 votes to 88 with 111 abstentions, although it was a watered down version of an original motion which had urged EU member states to recognise a Palestinian state unconditionally. The motion said the parliament “supports in principle recognition of Palestinian statehood and the two state solution, and believes these should go hand in hand with the development of peace talks, which should be advanced”.

There is no immediate unconditional recognition (of statehood).

Manfred Weber, chief of European People’s Party

The vote came hours after a European court ordered the EU to drop the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas from its terrorism blacklist on technical grounds. Several European parliaments have passed motions urging their governments to recognise a Palestinian state in recent weeks in a bid to pressure Israel to relaunch the moribund peace process. France, Britain, Spain, Ireland and Portugal have all passed votes to that end. Sweden has gone even further, officially recognising Palestine as a state.

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