Germany to Abstain in U.N. Palestinian Vote

Germany will abstain in Thursday's vote at the United Nations on whether to grant upgraded diplomatic status to the Palestinians, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said.

"Germany will abstain at today's vote in the General Assembly of the United Nations on the non-member observer status for the Palestinian Authority," Westerwelle said in a statement.

"We have not taken this decision lightly. Germany shares the goal of a Palestinian state," he said.

"The decisive steps to real statehood can only come about as a result of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians."

Westerwelle said Berlin had "doubts" about whether the Palestinian bid would foster the cause of the Middle East peace process, adding: "We fear it might rather lead to a hardening" of positions.

Germany will continue to push for all initiatives that lead to a genuine process of dialogue, Westerwelle vowed.

He welcomed the fact that the current draft explicitly calls for a two-state solution and recognizes Israel.

Several European countries have indicated they will back the bid, although Britain said it would abstain unless the Palestinians pledged not to seek an International Criminal Court (ICC) case against Israel and promised an immediate return to negotiations with the Jewish state.

A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that Germany would not be voting in favor of the resolution but did not specify the exact voting intention.