The Seanad,the upper house of the Irish parliament, passed a motion calling on the Irish Government to formally recognize the State of Palestine, TheJournal.ie reports.
Last week, 31 of the upper house’s 60 members signed the motion which was proposed by Fianna Fáil’s Averil Power.
Power said it was important that the international community “sends out a clear message of support for the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination” following a seven-week period of intense fighting in the Gaza region during the summer.
If Ireland were to officially recognise the State of Palestine, it would become the second EU country to do so, after Sweden.
Other European countries such as Hungary, Poland and Slovakia recognize Palestine, but they did so before joining the 28-member bloc.
