Brussels, December 4 (RHC)-- The parties which form Belgium's federal government have reportedly agreed on the recognition of Palestine as a state. Belgium's four main parties -- the Reformist Movement, the Flemish Liberals and Democrats, the Christian-Democratic and Flemish Party, and the New Flemish Alliance -- are to submit a motion supporting the recognition of a Palestinian state to the Belgian parliament "at a moment deemed appropriate."

Sweden is the only European country that has officially recognized Palestine's statehood, although several other EU parliaments have also adopted similar bills, which demand that their governments recognize Palestine as a state. In turn, Israel has expressed outrage by the motions submitted to European parliaments.

On Tuesday, French lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favor of a motion to recognize Palestine as an independent state. The motion, urging the French government to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state, was backed by a majority of 339 lawmakers while 151 members voted against.

On November 18th, Spanish lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a non-binding resolution on recognizing a Palestinian state. Britain and Ireland also passed similar non-binding motions. Earlier, Sweden went a step further and officially recognized the state of Palestine.