Ireland's upper house of parliament, the senate, passed a motion on Wednesday calling on the Dublin government to recognize Palestinian statehood. However, the senators' move is seen as symbolic and unlikely to change policy. The vote in the Irish senate came after a similar vote by the British House of Commons and Sweden's decision to recognize a Palestinian state. The motion prepared by Senator Averil Power urged the "[Irish] government to formally recognize the state of Palestine and do everything it can to help secure a viable two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so that citizens of both states can live in peace and security."Power said,"In doing so, we will help increase pressure on Israel to pursue a genuine peace process that has a real prospect of delivering peace and justice for both Israelis and Palestinians alike," according to an AFP report.The symbolic move has a significant value for Palestinians to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories by pursuing international recognition. The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign called the motion an important step in gaining international support for Palestinian statehood. The Israeli assault on Gaza has put the issue of Palestine's statehood on the agenda of European parties. As part of efforts to obtain international recognition for Palestine the U.N. vote in 2012 gave Palestine the status of observer non-member state. A total of 138 members voted in favor of Palestine with only nine voting against and 41 nations abstaining.