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PLO offers qualified praise for Italian parliament vote on Palestine

By JPOST.COM STAFF

FEBRUARY 27, 2015 19:07

The Palestine Liberation Organization on Friday praised the Italian parliament's passage of a measure urging the government in Rome to recognize an independent Palestinian state, though it lamented its purely symbolic nature.

“We thank the members of Italy’s Lower House of Parliament for voting in favor of a motion from the Democratic Party of Premier Matteo Renzi that supports 'the goal of ...establishment of a Palestinian state',” read a statement issued by PLO executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi.

"It is unfortunate, however, that the resolution did not commit to the unconditional and official recognition of the state of Palestine," the statement read.

"We are also dismayed by the second motion from the New Centre Right (NCD) that not only failed to mention the recognition of a Palestinian state, but instead called for direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis."

"Our independence is not dependent on the outcome of negotiations, mutual recognition or other preconditions," Ashrawi said. "We are entitled to self-determination and to exercise sovereignty on our own land without permission from the occupying power."

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