Greek parliament votes unanimously to recognise state of Palestine during Abbas visit
The vote came during a visit by the Palestinian President - but also amid stronger Greek-Israeli ties
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Greek parliament has voted unanimously in favour of recognising the state of Palestine during a visit from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The government of Alexis Tsipras had previously been urged by the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee to make the move, removing references to "the Palestinian Authority".
Parliament voted on the motion on Tuesday following an address by President Abbas, who held talks with Mr Tsipras on Monday night.
After those talks, Mr Abbas said his national authority had proposed changing the name it refers to on its passports to State of Palestine, saying this will happen in a year at most.
Despite its long-held position of support for the Palestinian people, Mr Tsipras's left-wing government is also working on improving relations with Israel. The Prime Minister visited that country last month, meeting Benjamin Netanyahu, before talks with Abbas in Ramallah, West Bank.
The flag of Palestine was raised at the UN headquarters in New York for the first time on 30 September, as a symbolic gesture.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments