Itongadol.- "There is a strong solidarity movement, there is a strong network of people speaking out when governments are much more timid and reticent," says senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi.
RAMALLAH – A senior Palestinian official said on Thursday that European moves toward recognizing an independent "Palestine" would bring them in line with global public opinion, ahead of a symbolic British parliament debate on the issue set for Monday.
The UK vote comes as Sweden\’s new Center-Left government is set to officially recognize "Palestine" and a spokesman for the French foreign ministry said this week that recognition would be a positive step at some point but still advised peace talks.
Israel says such recognition would undermine now stalled negotiations between the two sides, but Palestinians believe it is the best way to achieve a state.
"International public opinion is way ahead of many governments. There is a strong solidarity movement, there is a strong network of people speaking out when governments are much more timid and reticent," Hanan Ashrawi, an official in the Palestine Liberation Organization told reporters at her office in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
One hundred and thirty-eight countries approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in a vote at the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 but most European Union countries, including Britain, have yet to give official recognition.
Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza, with its capital in east Jerusalem.