The Scottish Government has urged Westminster to recognise Palestine as an independent state and invited the nation to establish its first European Consulate in Edinburgh.

Speaking ahead of a House of Commons vote on a motion calling upon the UK Government to recognise Palestine alongside the State of Israel, External Affairs Minister Humza Yousaf has written to Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary Philip Hammond to request he support the move.

He wrote: "The Scottish Government urges the UK Government to formally recognise the State of Palestine and as an immediate step in that precognition process, upgrade the political representation to a fully functioning embassy. In that vein, the Scottish Government would welcome the opening of a Palestinian Consulate in Scotland."

The intervention - which follows last week's announcement by incoming Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven that his country is set to formally recognise the Middle Eastern state - has been welcomed by the Palestinian authorities.

Palestine's representative in the UK, Manuel Hassassian, said: "Recognition of Palestine's right to self determination is a vital step in advancing the peace process. The support of influential nations like Scotland provides legitimacy to our claims under international law, forces Israel to think twice before committing acts of aggression and will enable us to sit at the negotiating table as an equal state.

"Scotland's recognition of Palestine and the support we receive from its people has long been way ahead of what we are seeing from Westminster today. It is vital, because with every action from the continued land grabs to its attempts to drive the Bedouin out of the Jordan Valley, Israel is demonstrating that it has no interest in negotiating a solution at this stage."

Hassassian believes that if the UK were to follow the example of the 193 United Nations members that currently recognise the country's statehood, other major European nations are likely to take similar steps. Regardless of the outcome of the vote, he says Palestine's representatives will continue to work with Scottish officials to promote a peaceful solution for the troubled region. Citing the devastation and suffering caused to the people of Gaza by the recent conflict with Israel, the Scottish Government's letter calls upon Westminster to galvanise its attitude and recognise the separate Palestinian State as a critical part of any two-state solution.

The Commons debate and vote, which will take place tomorrow, is thought likely to see a majority of MPs support the proposal to formally recognise Palestine. However, with official UK policy still supporting negotiations for a two-state solution and Cabinet Ministers set to abstain as a result, the vote will remain purely symbolic. This is at odds with the Scottish Government position that formal recognition of Palestine's nationhood is critical step on the road to negotiating a long term peaceful solution for the region, with a two-state solution difficult to arrive at if only one side is actually identified as a state.

Yousaf said: "The Scottish Government fully supports on-going efforts to bring about a viable two-state solution and we continue to believe in the need for both sides to demonstrate willingness to reach a meaningful long-lasting agreement.

"We also believe there should be a negotiated settlement in accordance with International law which requires mutual recognition and a will to peaceful co-existence."