JERUSALEM -- The British parliament's vote to recognize a Palestinian state reflects shifting public sentiment against Israel in Britain and around the world, Britain's ambassador to Israel said Tuesday.
According to Ambassador Matthew Gould, the House of Commons' vote Monday will not change British government policy but is "significant" because it reveals attitudes toward Israel after the summer war in Gaza.
The 50-day round of violence ended with a truce but left more than 2,100 Palestinians dead, most of them civilians, according to the United Nations. On the Israeli side, 72 people died, most of them soldiers.
Gould told Israel Radio that although it was symbolic, Israel should take note of the vote.
"I think it is right to be concerned about what it signifies in terms of the direction of public opinion," Gould said.
Israel's recent settlement activity such as the recent move to approve more Jewish housing in east Jerusalem has "a very corrosive effect on international opinion," the British envoy added.
Israel's Foreign Ministry said the vote in Britain undermines chances for peace because Palestinian statehood should come about only as a result of negotiations with Israel.
"Premature international recognition sends a troubling message to the Palestinian leadership that they can evade the tough choices that both sides have to make," the ministry said in a statement.
British legislators voted 274-12 in support of a motion calling on the government to "recognize the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel."
Prime Minister David Cameron and other government leaders abstained, and more than half of the 650 Commons members did not participate in the vote. But the motion had support from both government and opposition lawmakers, who said it could help jumpstart the peace process.
In 2012, the U.N. General Assembly voted to recognize a state of Palestine on territories captured by Israel in 1967. The United States and many European countries have not followed suit.
But earlier this month, Sweden's new Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said his government would recognize the state of Palestine, an announcement that drew praise from Palestinian officials and criticism from Israel.
In a further symbol of international support for the Palestinians, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in the Gaza Strip Tuesday and was scheduled to participate in a meeting of the new Palestinian government.
Israel has denounced the Palestinian government because it is has backing by the militant group Hamas, but Western governments have signalled a willingness to work with it.
The U.N. chief said the destruction he saw in Gaza was "much more serious" than what he witnessed in the Palestinian territory in 2009, following the round that year of Israel-Hamas violence.
In the West Bank on Tuesday, suspected Israeli vandals set fire to a mosque and sprayed Hebrew graffiti in the village of Aqraba.
The mosque's carpet was burned, walls had burn marks, and holy books were covered in soot. The graffiti referenced the name of a late American-Israeli ultranationalist rabbi, the name of a nearby Jewish settlement, and included the words "price tag," a slogan for assaults often carried out by extremist Jews in response to Palestinian or Israeli actions against them.
Israeli police said they were investigating.
