On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on EU member states to “consider recognizing the State of Palestine, with the aim of achieving a two-state solution.”.
While Parliament has in the past supported the “recognition, in principle, of Palestinian statehood,’ this new resolution appears to be a more direct call on national governments to take action.
The resolution was adopted with 305 votes in favor, 151 against, and 122 abstentions. According to Italian Socialist MEP Nicola Zingaretti, the outcome was the result of extensive negotiations among the political groups regarding various amendments.
The vote was long and tense, and members of Parliament even requested a recess to verify the votes on the amendments regarding Gaza, before proceeding to the final vote on the resolution as a whole.
Another contentious point in the resolution was the use of the term “genocide” to describe Israel’s attacks on Gaza. The phrase “genocidal acts” was ultimately rejected and removed from the text.
