PARIS -- Lawmakers in France debated on Friday a nonbinding motion to recognize a Palestinian state, after similar moves in other European nations that were preceded by increased criticism of Israeli policies in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The motion, initiated by the governing Socialist Party, is expected to pass when it is put to a vote in the lower house of Parliament on Tuesday.
Even though the motion is symbolic, its passage would make France the fourth European nation to support Palestinian sovereignty. This month, European foreign ministers denounced the "unbearable situation" in Gaza, the expropriation of land near Bethlehem in the West Bank, and plans to build new settlements particularly in Givat Hamatos, a neighborhood in southern Jerusalem.
"The EU calls for a radical change of situation in terms of politics, security and economics in the Gaza Strip," the joint statement said.
Last month, Sweden's prime minister, Stefan Lofven, said his government would recognize a Palestinian state, the first major western European nation to do so. Lofven said he believed a two-state solution was the only way to resolve the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
Lofven's initiative was followed by similar moves in the British and Spanish parliaments, intended to pressure their governments to condemn what many view as aggressive Israeli policies. Also last month, British lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution to give diplomatic recognition to a Palestinian state.
The motion under consideration in France invites the government to "recognize the state of Palestine" in order to "reinforce our country's diplomatic action, prevail over hate speech everywhere and contribute to the establishment of peace in the Middle East."
Elisabeth Guigou, a Socialist lawmaker and president of the foreign affairs committee in the National Assembly, said the vote in France would encourage other European leaders and the European Parliament to recognize a Palestinian state and avoid having the conflict "feed anti-Semitism in France."
The issue is particularly delicate in France, which has the largest Muslim and Jewish populations in Europe. The war in Gaza last summer set off violent protests in several French cities.
France has long fought for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict, especially under former President Francois Mitterrand, "who understood since 1982 that we needed two states," said Jean-Paul Chagnollaud, who heads the Institute of Mediterranean and Middle East Research and Studies in Paris.
A recognition vote would clarify years of "sometimes unbalanced" foreign policy in the region, Chagnollaud said.
After the war in Gaza over the summer, President Francois Hollande of France drew criticism for expressing solidarity with Israel. He later tempered his position, saying he was concerned about Palestinian casualties.
As French lawmakers debated the vote Friday, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told them that France was working with its partners at the United Nations "to adopt a Security Council resolution to relaunch and conclude talks."
While few across France's political spectrum oppose the recognition of a Palestinian state, some leading voices of the opposition criticized the timing of the vote and said they would oppose it. Others refused to support the motion, saying it would lend virtual support to Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that runs the Gaza Strip.
"I will fight for the Palestinians to have their state," Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, said at a recent campaign meeting near Paris. Sarkozy is not a lawmaker, but he is expected to secure the leadership of his center-right Union for a Popular Movement today.
"But unilateral recognition a few days after a deadly attack and when there is no peace process? No," he said, in reference to an attack this month at a synagogue in West Jerusalem in which five civilians were killed.
A few days before the debate, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said that French recognition of a Palestinian state would be "a serious mistake."
Elsewhere on Friday, an Italian man marching in support of Palestinians in the northern West Bank was shot and seriously wounded by Israeli forces, a Palestinian hospital official said.
Ramallah Hospital director Ahmad Bitawi said Patrick Corsi, 30, was shot during a peaceful protest Friday in the village of Kufr Qadom. He described Corsi's condition as stable.
Village resident Khaldon Ishtawi said Israeli soldiers opened fire without provocation on about 400 protesters from a distance of about 130 feet and shot Corsi in the chest.
The Israeli military said it opened fire with low-caliber bullets after tear gas and other crowd control measures failed to stop protesters from burning tires and throwing rocks. It said two demonstrators were wounded and taken to hospitals.
In other violence Friday, the military said security forces also opened fire with low-caliber bullets on dozens of rock-throwing Palestinian demonstrators at the Qalandiya checkpoint after weekly prayers. The army reported two injuries among the demonstrators but had no information on their condition.
Meanwhile, Israel's hard-line foreign minister said he supports paying Arab citizens to leave the country, a statement some fear will worsen already tense relations between Israeli Jews and Arabs.
In a manifesto of his Yisrael Beitenu party, Avigdor Lieberman said he favors ceding Arab majority areas in northern Israel to a future Palestinian state and providing economic incentives for Arab Israelis -- about 20 percent of Israel's population of 8 million -- to emigrate.
Information for this article was contributed by Maia de la Baume of The New York Times and by staff members of The Associated Press.
A Section on 11/29/2014