(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The Spanish parliament on Tuesday cast an overwhelming majority vote in recognition of the State of Palestine, becoming the third parliament to approve the symbolic gesture in Europe, after Britain and the Republic of Ireland.
Only two lawmakers rejected the motion raised by the opposition Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, with one abstaining, out of the 322 members present at the lower house, known as the Congress of Deputies, in their new building.
Despite being considered unbinding, the move carries an important political dimension amid steps that could one day make the Palestinian dream a reality, and which witnessed the unprecedented attendance of the Palestinian and other Arab ambassadors.
In an address at the session, Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said that the government hopes the announcement gives new impetus to peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians that have been stalling for many years.
He also underlined the need for the step to achieve peace and reconciliation between the sides, and helps prevent a crime being committed as was in the case in the attack on the Jerusalem synagogue earlier in the day.
The minister welcomed the huge backing of the announcement as he stressed, on the other hand, that the Spanish government is committed to reaching agreements, within the EU, that achieve a combined regional foreign policy on the matter.
Spain will also, as a non-permanent Security Council member as of January 2016, be committed to unearthing means that urge the international community to push forward dialogue aimed at peace, security and prosperity in the Middle East, he added.
For her part, ex-foreign minister and current Spanish Socialist Workers' Party spokeswoman Trinidad Jimemez, who had devised the memo, underlined that the only way to end the Middle East struggle is through the solution of two states, living side-by-side in peace and security.
The announcement does not aim to show approval of one side over another, she said, but rather aims to express Spain's keenness in supporting the dialogue process and putting a stop to violence.
She also expressed the need for the same move to be made at the level of the European Union.
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