MOSCOW, October 13 (RIA Novosti) - British Prime Minister David Cameron and members of the UK cabinet would not support a resolution recognizing the sovereign state of Palestine, and the country's policy towards the autonomy will not change, a representative of the Prime Minister's Office told journalists Monday.
"British foreign policy towards Palestine will not change. I've been pretty clear about the government's position and it won't be changing… Cameron would abstain in the vote along with other government ministers," the representative said.
As expected, the British Parliament will consider a resolution recognizing Palestine as an independent state later Monday. The document will not be binding for implementation by the government and will be just a statement expressing the position of the parliamentary majority.
It had been previously stated that the United Kingdom does not consider Palestine as an independent state, but could recognize Palestinian statehood, if it was a condition for the development of the peace process with Israel.
Palestinians seek the creation of an independent state on the territories of the West Bank in East Jerusalem, partially occupied by Israel, as well as on the Gaza Strip territory controlled by Hamas militants. Palestine has designated Jerusalem as its capital and calls on Israel to withdraw from Palestinian territories it took following the 1967 war.
In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly upgraded Palestine from a "non-member observer entity" to a "non-member observer state" and affirmed the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.
By September 2013, the Palestinian State was recognized by 134 UN member states, including Russia. However, most European Union members and the United States have not given their official recognition. Some EU members such as Hungary, Poland and Slovakia recognized the Palestinian State before joining the bloc.
