
Palestinian Authority (PA) cabinet leader Mohammad Shtayyeh on Tuesday called on Britain to realize the recognition of a Palestinian state in accordance with a resolution passed by its parliament several years ago.
Shtayyeh also asked Britain to send a team to examine Israel's offsetting of the tax money that it collects for the PA.
In a meeting with a British parliamentary delegation in his office in Ramallah, Shtayyeh said that recognition of a Palestinian state is important at this time in light of reports of Israel’s intention to annex parts of Judea and Samaria.
Shtayyeh also urged Britain and other UN Security Council members to initiate an international peace conference based on international legitimacy.
The conference is supposed to be a counter-action to the "Deal of the Century", that the United States is currently promoting to resolve the conflict, and to save the “two-state solution.”
Several European countries, including Britain, have in recent years recognized the state of “Palestine”, but these were symbolic moves that have little, if any, actual diplomatic effect.
PA officials have been pressuring those European countries to officially recognize “Palestine”, in a move meant to bypass direct peace talks with Israel.