Athens, December 21 (RHC)-- Greece is set to recognize the state of Palestine in a parliamentary vote, thus joining dozens of other countries that accord recognition to the Palestinian state. A Greek government source said on Sunday that the vote on Palestine will be held on Tuesday. Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas will attend the voting session.

Abbas is expected in Athens on Sunday ahead of the vote and will meet President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Last week, the Greek parliament's foreign affairs committee unanimously approved a motion to recognize Palestine. Tsipras traveled to Palestine last month; there, he met with both Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

During the past months, other European legislatures, including those of the UK, France, Spain, Ireland, Belgium and Portugal, have recognized the Palestinian state. In December 2014, the European Parliament also overwhelmingly backed the recognition of a Palestinian state "in principle."

Back in June, Athens announced that its officials would begin using the term "Palestine." Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzia said: "We decided to issue instructions throughout the Greek public administration for the uniform use of the term 'Palestine' when we refer to our friendly country."