Greece’s ruling party urges recognition of Palestine

Greece’s ruling party, Syriza, has urged the government to recognize Palestine as a state, 10 months after the Greek parliament recommended Athens to do so.

The party called for the recognition of Palestine during its congress held between last Friday and Sunday, which was also attended by a delegation representing the Fatah movement, the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s ruling party, the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency reported on Monday.

Senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath of the delegation said the plea reflected the wider view of Palestine and Fatah held by Greek citizens.

The legislature voted last December in favor of a motion to recommend that the government recognize the Palestinian state. The voting took place during a special parliamentary session, also joined by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Greece has several times communicated its support for an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East al-Quds as its capital.

SS