The Scottish Government called on the United Kingdom government to officially recognise the state of Palestine, ahead of a motion in the British Houses of Parliament on Monday.
Backing calls for official recognition, Scotland also invited Palestine to open its first European Consulate in Edinburgh.
In a letter to UK Foreign Minister Phillip Hammond, Scotland's External Affairs Minister Humza Yousaf said,
"The Scottish Government urges the UK Government to formally recognise the State of Palestine and as an immediate step in that precognition process, upgrade the political representation to a fully functioning embassy. In that vein, the Scottish Government would welcome the opening of a Palestinian Consulate in Scotland.""We also believe there should be a negotiated settlement in accordance with International law which requires mutual recognition and a will to peaceful co-existence."
The call was welcomed by Palestine's representative in the UK, Manuel Hassassian, who said,
"Recognition of Palestine's right to self determination is a vital step in advancing the peace process. The support of influential nations like Scotland provides legitimacy to our claims under international law, forces Israel to think twice before committing acts of aggression and will enable us to sit at the negotiating table as an equal state.”
See more from the Herald Scotland here.
Earlier this month, Sweden’s new centre-left government became the first sitting member of the European Union to recognise the state of Palestine.
The United Kingdom is set to vote on the issue on Monday, with the Labour party backing calls for Palestinian recognition.
See more in our earlier post: UK MPs set to vote on Palestinian statehood (10 October 2014)
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