Motion for a resolution - B8-0310/2014Motion for a resolution
B8-0310/2014

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on recognition of Palestinian statehood

10.12.2014 - (2014/2964(RSP))

to wind up the debate on the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
pursuant to Rule 123(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Patrick Le Hyaric, Martina Anderson, Neoklis Sylikiotis, Ángela Vallina, Sofia Sakorafa, Teresa Rodriguez-Rubio, Younous Omarjee, Pablo Iglesias, Eleonora Forenza, Merja Kyllönen, Marisa Matias, Rina Ronja Kari, Josu Juaristi Abaunz, Gabriele Zimmer, Marie‑Christine Vergiat, Barbara Spinelli, Malin Björk, Anne-Marie Mineur, Liadh Ní Riada, Fabio De Masi, Matt Carthy, Lynn Boylan, Curzio Maltese, Georgios Katrougkalos, Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Kostadinka Kuneva, Emmanouil Glezos, Kostas Chrysogonos, Javier Couso Permuy, Marina Albiol Guzmán, Paloma López Bermejo, Lidia Senra Rodríguez, Lola Sánchez Caldentey on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0277/2014

Procedure : 2014/2964(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
B8-0310/2014
Texts tabled :
B8-0310/2014
Debates :
Texts adopted :

B8‑0310/2014

European Parliament resolution on recognition of Palestinian statehood
(2014/2964(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–       having regard to its previous resolutions on the Middle East,

–       having regard to the Foreign Affairs Council conclusions of 17 November 2014,

–       having regard to UN General Assembly resolution 67/19,

–       having regard to the Charter of the United Nations,

–       having regard to the Fourth Geneva Convention,

–       having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

–       having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.     whereas, in November 2012, the United Nations General Assembly granted ‘non-member observer state’ status to Palestine;

B.     whereas, on 30 October 2014, the Swedish Government announced its official recognition of the State of Palestine; whereas Sweden is the first country which, as an EU Member State, has recognised the Palestinian State;

C.     whereas seven other Member States – Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, and Romania – had already recognised the Palestinian State before they joined the EU;

D.     whereas more than 130 countries around the world have recognised the Palestinian State;

E.     whereas on 13 October 2014 the UK House of Commons passed a motion stating that ‘the Government should recognise the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution’;

F.     whereas on 22 October 2014 the Irish Senate passed a motion in which it ‘calls on the Government to formally recognise the State of Palestine and do everything it can at the international level to help secure a viable two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’;

G.     whereas on 18 November 2014 the Spanish Parliament approved a motion urging the government to recognise Palestine as a state;

H.     whereas the French National Assembly’s vote on a motion inviting the French Government to recognise the State of Palestine with the aim of achieving a final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is scheduled for 28 November 2014, and whereas this should be followed by a vote on the same motion in the Senate on 11 December 2014;

I.      whereas similar initiatives have been launched in several other European countries;

J.      whereas an increasing number of Israeli civil society organisations, peace movements and intellectuals are calling for recognition of the Palestinian State;

K.     whereas achieving a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and between Arabs and Israelis in a broader context, is a target for the international community;

L.     whereas the recognition of the State of Palestine falls within the competence of the Member States;

M.    whereas the EU has failed to play a significant political role in the peace process in recent years;

N.     whereas in its resolutions Parliament has called on the Member States to be united in addressing the legitimate demand of the Palestinians for their country to be represented as a state at the United Nations;

O.     whereas Parliament has, through the adoption of a resolution, expressed its support for the Palestinian State becoming a non-member observer state in the UN;

1.      Urges all the Member States, the EU institutions and the UN organisations to recognise the State of Palestine on the basis of the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital, as established in UN resolutions;

2.      Stresses that the two-state solution is based on the 1948 UN resolution and on the recognition of both states by the international community;

3.      Affirms that the right of Palestinians to self-determination and to have their own state, as well as the right of the State of Israel to exist within secure borders, are unquestionable;

4.      Stresses that the recognition of the State of Palestine by the Member States should contribute to the immediate resumption of direct peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, and urges the EU to assume its responsibility in becoming a real political player in the Middle East peace process;

5.      Calls on both parties to refrain from any action which may undermine the viability and prospects of the two-state solution, with special regard to Israeli settlement construction and extension activities in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the continued expropriation of Palestinian land and demolition of Palestinian property by Israel;

6.      Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Quartet Envoy to the Middle East, the Knesset and the Government of Israel, the President of the Palestinian Authority, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Consensus Government and the Palestinian Legislative Council.