Palestinian President Abbas
Photo: AFP
Greece set to recognize a Palestinian state
Abbas to attend vote at Greek parliament, followed by a ceremony after Greece's foreign affairs committee unanimously approved motion to recognize 'Palestine.'
Greece is set to recognize a Palestinian state in a parliamentary vote to be attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, a government source said.
A solemn ceremony will accompany the vote as Greece joins dozens of other countries that accord recognition to Palestine, the source said.
Abbas arrived in Athens on Sunday ahead of the vote and was set to meet with President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday.
The recently sworn-in Greek government (Photo: Reuters)
Last week, the Greek parliament's foreign affairs committee unanimously approved a motion to recognize Palestine.
Tsipras travelled to Israel last month when he met with both Abbas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Palestinian flag was hoisted for the first time at UN headquarters in New York on September 30 in a symbolic gesture.
Abbas then took to the podium to call for universal recognition of Palestine.
