The parties that make up Belgium’s federal government have agreed to recognize Palestinian statehood unilaterally, a Belgian daily reported.
The four parties reached an agreement earlier this week, the Le Soir daily reported on Dec. 3. They plan to submit a motion to parliament formulating support for recognizing Palestinian statehood, which the government is planning to implement.
However, the draft of the planned motion did not include a set date for recognition, Le Soir reported. Quoting from the text, the paper said it stated that recognition will happen “at a moment deemed appropriate.”
If Belgium’s government eventually recognizes a Palestinian state, it would be the second country in Europe to do so following Sweden’s recognition in October.
The French Senate is scheduled to vote Dec. 11 on a similar motion, which would be nonbinding.
The French motion calls for Jerusalem to be the Palestinian state’s capital, as well as Israel’s. It further calls on the government to act “urgently” on the matter.
The French vote followed similar mostly symbolic motions passed in the lower house of the British parliament and by Ireland’s upper house last month. — jta