France: Lawmakers to Vote on Recognition of Palestine on 28 November

The French National Assembly is to vote on a resolution which calls on Francois Hollande's Socialist government to recognise Palestine as a state on 28 November, according to a parliamentary source.

In a draft of the proposed resolution, it says that "the Assembly calls on the French government to recognise the Palestinian state as an instrument to achieve a final settlement of the conflict."

Last month, British MPs voted to recognise Palestine as a state while Sweden officially recognised Palestine last week. The French vote, like Britain's, will be non-binding but highly symbolic.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has previously said that France would eventually have to recognise Palestine but wished to choose the right moment to do so.

"The question is when and how? Because it is necessary that this recognition is useful in efforts to break the deadlock and contribute to a final settlement of the conflict," he added.

Following Sweden's decision to recognise the State of Palestine, Israel recalled its ambassador to the Scandinavian country.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that Sweden's choice to recognise the state was a "very unfortunate decision" that only serves "radical and intransigent Palestinian elements".