Palestinian premier urges UK to recognize Palestine

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh on Wednesday called on Britain to recognize the state of Palestine.

Shtayyeh made the call during a meeting with a delegation from the UK Conservative Party in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"Britain should recognize the State of Palestine out of the political and historical responsibility that it entails," the Palestinian premier said.

Shtayyeh noted that the recognition will "protect the two-state solution” to the Palestinian issue, going on to call for holding Israel accountable for “its actions and violations against the Palestinian people."

In 1993, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel signed the Oslo agreement, which gave Palestinians a form of self-rule, but negotiations failed to lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Peace negotiations between the two sides collapsed in April 2014 over Israel's refusal to halt settlement building and release Palestinian detainees imprisoned before 1993.

* Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara