EU parliament set to endorse Palestine recognition

BRUSSELS - The European Parliament is poised to vote Yes on a non-binding motion on Palestine recognition after three of its biggest groups agreed a draft text.

The draft, seen by EUobserver, says the EU assembly “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”.

Negotiators from the centre-right EPP, the centre-left S&D, and the Liberal Alde group finalised their joint text on Wednesday (16 December) ahead of the vote on Thursday.

They hold 488 out of 751 seats between them.

But some MEPs are likely to vote against the group line due to the nature of the dossier.

“It’s such a delicate issue that nothing is over until it’s over … people tend to vote on national lines as well as political lines, so the divisions are much bigger”, an EPP spokeswoman said.

The EPP, the biggest group, last month postponed the vote due to qualms over timing.

It said an EU motion falling in the middle of Israeli elections could annoy right-wing voters and be counterproductive to peace.

The elections are due in March. But parliament sources said the S&D group declined to put it off again.

The EPP spokeswoman noted the draft text is “worded in such a way as to try to accommodate everybody … it speaks of supporting recognition ‘in principle’, so it’s very general”.

An earlier draft put forward by the far-left Gue group “urge[d] all EU member states … to recognise the state of Palestine on the basis of the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as the capital”.

But Gue is expected to co-sign the new text, while pro-Palestinian campaigners are happy it doesn’t make recognition conditional on a co-ordinated EU approach or on a final Israel-Palestine agreement.

The vote is non-binding on EU countries.

But the resolution notes that British, French, Irish, Portuguese, and Spanish national MPs all passed similar non-binding motions in the past two months. Belgium and Denmark are also preparing to vote, while Sweden formally recognised Palestine in October.

The developments reflect frustration over Israeli settlement expansion and mass-killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza in summer.

The pressure also comes amid a French-led UN Security Council initiative.

France has drafted a UN resolution giving the two sides until the end of 2016 to reach a deal followed by Israeli forces’ withdrawal to 1967 lines.

Israeli media say Britain and Germany back France. But there is disagreement on the deadline and on whether to designate Israel as a “Jewish state”.

For his part, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu i has ruled out ending the occupation.

He said earlier this week the civil war in Iraq and Syria means withdrawal "would lead to bringing Islamic extremists to the suburbs of Tel Aviv and to the heart of Jerusalem. We will not allow this”.

Israeli groups from both sides have lobbied Strasbourg over the past few weeks.

Six right-wing NGOs (including two - Im Tirzu and the Legal Forum - which are against peace talks) emailed MEPs on Tuesday saying “premature” EU recognition “incentivises instability”.

“Irresponsible international involvement will facilitate the extreme elements within the Palestinian population, making it worth their while to continue with the cycle of terrorism”.

But more than 800 former Israeli diplomats and officials, as well as artists, scientists, and professionals signed a petition to MEPs saying ongoing occupation will “lead to further confrontations with Palestinians”.

They added that a Yes vote “will advance prospects for peace".