ISTANBUL

 Palestinians living in Istanbul have said British lawmakers’ vote this week in favor of recognizing Palestine as a state has only symbolic meaning.

“The non-binding motion of the U.K. parliament has no effective or powerful implication. They should apologize to the Palestinian people instead. It was Britain that created this problem in the first place,” says Abd Al-Fettah Al-Awaisi, a professor of international relations with Palestinian roots at Sabahattin Zaim University in Istanbul.

A total of 274 U.K. members of parliament backed a motion on Monday night to recognize the state of Palestine as part of a two-state solution, with only 12 voting against.

The lawmakers voted for the move which "calls on the [British] government to recognize the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel" after Sweden made a similar commitment almost two weeks ago.

The U.K. vote comes amid a flurry of European countries which are debating whether or not to officially recognize Palestine as a state.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Tuesday that his country would only do so if it would enable a revival of peace, rather than being "merely symbolic."

However, many Palestinians remain skeptical.

“After the latest Israeli aggression on Gaza there were huge demonstrations all over cities in U.K. This influenced politicians, with some feeling it is the right time to recognize Palestine as a state,” said Awaisi.

Awaisi said politicians have been debating it for some time, adding this was the most significant result to emerge from the debate going on in the House of Commons.

‘Abu Amir’, a Palestinian refugee living in Istanbul, said the motion would not change the situation in his country.

Saying that he did not believe that the U.K. wanted to help Palestinians, Amir claims instead that London is a supporter of Israel in the background.

Ashraf Awad, a former engineer from Gaza living in Istanbul for the last five years, said it would be more meaningful to see the U.K. apologize to Palestinians for “starting the conflict in the first place”.

Many Palestinian and Arab leaders have insisted that a future state must exist along pre-1967 borders, those based on frontiers which were in place before the Six-Day War.

The office of Israel's prime minister – Benjamin Netanyahu – has previously rejected what it terms "a withdrawal to the 1967 borders," calling it "indefensible" and noting it would leave major Israeli population centers in Palestinian territory.

www.aa.com.tr/en