A bill to officially recognize Palestinian state has been submitted to the House of Commons by the first British Palestinian MP, Laula Moran, on Wednesday.
The Liberal Democrat MP said, in a video she shared before submitting the bill, that she is very proud of being elected as the first Palestinian MP in the U.K. “but, it remains the fact that Britain has not officially recognized the Palestinians as a state and I believe that is something that should change.”
“Since I was elected, I have been dismayed at the progress the Conservative Government has made towards recognizing the state of Palestine,” Moran said, in a statement issued to Anadolu Agency.
“I am in favor of a two-state solution, but, until the state of Palestine is recognized, the two actors can’t come to the table as equal partners,” she said.
She further stated: “Given the U.K.’s role in the Balfour declaration it is vital that Britain recognizes the role it has played and the role is has to play in re-igniting the peace talks.
“Whilst I appreciate that the U.K. recognizing the state of Palestine alone won’t be a solution, doing it would go some way to reigniting the spark of hope that has gone out in the heart of Palestinians across the world.”
The bill will be published in the next few days or weeks and it will, if passed into law, require the government to formally recognize the state of Palestine within 3 months of the bill being passed, a statement from Moran’s parliamentary office said.
PNN further reports that Palestine embarked on a strategy to seek international recognition as an independent state in 1988, with its declaration of independence. Between 2009 and 2010, a second phase began, during which many countries decided to recognize it as an independent state.
In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly granted Palestine the status of non-member observer state.
It has been recognized by 137 of the 193 UN member states and the UK, US and most of the EU countries are still to recognize Palestinian state, officially.