Spain seen leaning in Palestine's favor at UN

With growing divisions among the European Union nations, Spain is said to be leaning toward voting in favor of UN recognition of Palestine as an independent state if the proposal is presented this week by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, diplomatic sources say.

On Sunday Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez arrived in New York, where world leaders will gather this week for the annual General Assembly meeting. It will be the first time since he was elected in 2004 that Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will not attend. Jiménez is expected to address the body on Saturday.

But on Friday she will hold separate talks with her Palestinian and Israeli counterparts, Riad Al Malki and Avigdor Lieberman, respectively. On that day, Abbas is expected to file his petition with the United Nations for full membership, a move that both the United States and Israel are opposing.

On arrival in New York, Jiménez said that the Palestinian proposal was a "legitimate" one and could constitute a "step forward" on the road to a negotiated peace settlement between Palestine and Israel.

EU member states are said to be divided over the decision. Israel has already accepted that Spain, along with Sweden, Belgium, Portugal and Ireland, will vote in favor of the Palestinian proposal. Those on the Israeli side are said to be Germany, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands and Czech Republic. France and Britain are expected to abstain.

On Wednesday, Jiménez told Congress that steps should be taken to allow for Palestinian recognition but they should be accompanied by an agreement hammered out with Israel.