PRESS RELEASE

PLO Executive Committee

Department of Culture and Information

December 2, 2014

Dr. Ashrawi Welcomes the Vote of the French Parliament to Recognize Palestine

Following the French Parliament’s vote in favor of recognizing the State of Palestine, PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi issued the following statement:

“On behalf of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the people of Palestine, we wish to express our gratitude to the members of the French Parliament for adopting a resolution (339 in favor and 151 against) on the side of justice and human dignity, and for overwhelmingly voting in favor of the recognition of the State of Palestine.

Statehood and self-determination are not dependent on the approval of the occupying power or on negotiations; it is an inherent and legal right for the Palestinian people to exercise sovereignty on our own land.

We express our gratitude to the people of France and around the world for ensuring the success of this vote, and we call on the French government to translate its parliament’s vote into action.  

 For peace to prevail, support for the two-state solution must be more than lip service.  If members of the international community are serious about the creation of the independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital, they must undertake serious and concrete measures to end the occupation and to recognize the State of Palestine.”