Slovenia’s parliament voted to officially recognize an independent state of Palestine last night.
52 MPs voted for the recognition and 0 against. The government and coalition parties say the recognition will send a message of hope to the Palestinian people, put pressure on Israel to end the hostilities, and facilitate the peace process.
However, the centre-right SDS opposition party boycotted the vote and said it would challenge it. It accuses Parliamentary Speaker Urška Klakočar Zupančić of violating the rules of procedure for not taking into account its proposal for a consultative referendum on the matter. Speaker Klakočar Zupančić said a possible challenge by the opposition would not be successful.