French Senate wants government to recognize Palestinian state, hoping to speed up peace talks

Published January 08, 2015

France's Senate has narrowly approved a resolution asking the government to recognize a Palestinian state, in hopes that could be a tool in negotiations for lasting Mideast peace.

Legislators and officials around Europe are increasingly pushing for two states, disappointed with stalemate in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

French senators voted 154-146 Thursday in favor of a non-binding resolution "inviting" the French government to recognize Palestine. The lower house of France's Parliament adopted a similar measure last week but by a much larger margin.

The French government supports a two-state solution but says it's too early for outright recognition, as some senators argued. France, a veto-holding member of the U.N. Security Council, is trying to tamp out rising anti-Semitism at home and to maintain good relations with Israel and Arab governments.

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https://www.foxnews.com/world/french-senate-wants-government-to-recognize-palestinian-state-hoping-to-speed-up-peace-talks