Danish parliament votes down bill to recognise Palestinian state

Denmark's parliament has voted down a bill to recognise a Palestinian state.

The bill was proposed in late February by four left-wing parties, but was rejected after the Danish foreign minister said the preconditions for an independent state lacking.

"We cannot recognise an independent Palestinian state, for the sole reason that the preconditions are not really there," Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said when the bill was first debated in parliament in April.

Norway, Ireland and Spain formally recognised a Palestinian state on Tuesday, despite Israeli threats.

Since Israel's war on Gaza began on 7 October, Denmark has argued that Israel has a right to defend itself, but more recently it has urged the country to show restraint and respect international law.