European Parliament
European ParliamentFlash 90

A senior Fatah official on Tuesday said that a European Union parliament vote to recognize “Palestine” as a state has been postponed due to an issue of wording.

"The right-wing parties, who represent a majority in the European parliament, wanted a wording similar to the Spanish decision, which reads that recognition will be declared after Palestinians and Israelis reach a peace agreement," Nabil Shaath told the Ma'an news agency.

Such a wording would not grant Palestinian Arabs self-determination, he added.

Shaath told Ma'an that left-wing parties believed recognition of “Palestine” as a state could help lead to a peace agreement.

He added that the Danish parliament would vote on recognition of Palestine as a state on December 12, and that the Palestinian Authority leadership would then push for state recognition from Austria and Finland.

Several European governments have already moved to recognize “Palestine”: British lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on October 13 in favor of a non-binding motion to "recognize the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution".

Sweden announced on October 30 it officially recognized the state of Palestine, a move criticized by Israel and the United States.

Last week, Spanish lawmakers adopted a motion calling on the government to recognize a Palestinian state, and France has announced an upcoming vote on the matter as well.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon predicted on Monday that the momentum of countries recognizing the “state of Palestine” will grow.