That's the debate on whether to recognise Palestine as a state finished. The vote on the resolution will take place next month.

The next item on today's agenda is will be a debate following a statement from the Commission about the 25th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, external, which was adopted in November 1989.

Ms Mogherini closes the debate by saying she is worried by the fact the discussion "mirrors" the nature of the debate in the Middle East, with some members operating under the "false illusion" that a solution requires "taking a side" in the conflict.

She call for "dialogue to be strengthened" in both camps, adding that there are "not many international actors" that are capable of helping both sides to negotiate peace

She says that, as Europeans, they have an "historical share" in the responsibility for the roots of the conflict, and reiterates her conviction that EU concern in the Middle East does not amount to "interference".

"This is definitely our business," she adds.

With the scheduled speakers finished, we now move on to the "catch the eye" procedure, after which EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini will close the debate.

Spanish GUE MEP Ángela Vallina becomes the latest left-wing member in today's debate to outline her support for Palestinian statehood, saying that to do so would be a move to "oppose injustice and illegality" on the part of Israel, which she accuses of committing several violations of international law, without having its own statehood questioned by European nations.

There have been lots of interventions during this debate using the Parliament's "blue card" procedure.

The procedure gives an MEP 30 seconds to ask a question of another MEP about a point they made in their speech.

An MEP can be interrupted by more than one blue-card holder, if the President chooses to allow it.

MEPs can make more than one blue-card request during a debate, but only if allowed by the President.

"Recognising the state is just a gesture," says Swedish MEP Lars Adaktusson, who calls his own country's recent recognition of Palestinian statehood a "populist" move.

He adds that a key ingredient of meaningful statehood is the ability to control one's own borders, which he says is not currently happening - although he says he supports the principle of recognition at the right time.

In 2012 the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade the Palestinians' status to that of "non-member observer state". Some 41 nations - including the UK - abstained.

That followed a failed bid to join the international body as a full member state in 2011, due to a lack of support in the UN's Security Council.

Czech Conservative Jan Zahradil criticises the idea that the Parliament should pass a motion to recognise Palestinian statehood, adding that such a move would "exceed its own powers".

He continues that the matter would be better left to negotiations between national governments, and that approving a motion in Strasbourg would "only complicate the situation".

In 2009, EU leaders adopted a position, external at a meeting of the European Council to recognise Palestinian statehood "when appropriate".

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Swedish Socialist MEP Marita Ulvskog reiterates her group's position that recognition of Palestinian statehood "would contribute to the possibility of Israel and Palestine living peacefully alongside each other", and that whilst ultimately recognition lies in the hands of the member states' governments, she thinks that the Parliament's motion of recognition would "send a message" to Israel and Palestine, as well as other EU institutions such as the Commission.

Liberal Pavel Telicka thanks Ms Mogherini for turning up in person to today's debate, which he says marks a change from the usual course of events under Ms Mogherini's predecessor, the UK's Catherine Ashton.

Mr Telicka's group leader Guy Verhofstadt has been a vocal critic of the infrequency with which Ms Ashton made visits to Strasbourg to make statements, often sending stand-ins to replace her while she was on official business.

Today's debate comes at a time when a number of parliaments across Europe - including those in Spain and the UK - have recently voted to recognise Palestinian statehood.

MPs in Britain voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a state, alongside Israel, last month.

The vote does not force the UK government to change its current position on the issue, which is that it "reserves the right to recognise a Palestinian state bilaterally at the moment of our choosing and when it can best help bring about peace".

French MPs are going to be debating a motion, external this Friday to recognise Palestine "as an instrument to gain a definitive resolution" to the conflict in the Middle East.

Hungarian Green MEP Tamás Meszerics says he is saddened by the fact that the motion on statehood has been postponed till next month, and says a decision not to recognise statehood would make the Parliament "lame" in foreign policy matters.

Gavin Hewitt
Europe editor

The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, unveiled his big plan today to boost the European economy. "Europe needs a kick-start," he said, "and the Commission is applying the jump leads".

Read more on Gavin's blog about Kick-starting the European economy

Last month, Sweden became first state to formally recognise Palestine whilst a member of the EU.

Most of the EU's 28 member states have refrained from recognising Palestinian statehood and those that do - such as Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - did so before joining the bloc after the turn of the millennium.

Conservative MEP Charles Tannock says he worries that the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state might do more harm than good "at this stage", due to a number of factors, including the status of Hamas as a terrorist organisation at UN level.

He reiterates, however, that his group is committed to the principle of the eventual two-state solution as a route to peace in the region at a time when the conditions are right.

"We used to talk about a roadmap, but that has been forgotten," says Labour MEP Richard Howitt, adding that the Synagogue bombings in Jerusalem earlier this week underline that "the status quo is not working".

Although he says he supports the idea that the Parliament recognises Palestinian statehood, he underlines that "statehood is not a gift to be given, but a right to be earned".

Although underlining that the ability to officially recognise Palestine as a state lies with individual member states, she says she wants to shape a "common European approach" to the question.

She says it is useful to "name" what exactly the two-state solution means: an Israeli state existing alongside a Palestinian state, "which does not exist at the moment".

She says the eventual goal is the creation of a Palestinian state along the lines of 1967 borders, a "consensual position" of the international community.

Most EU member states have not does this yet - the UK government says it supports this long-term aim, but that it "reserves the right to recognise a Palestinian state bilaterally at the moment of our choosing, and when it can best help bring about peace".

Opening the debate, the EU's foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini - who is also vice-president of the Commission - says this afternoon's discussion is a "timely debate" given recent developments in the Middle East.

She tells MEPs that the EU can be the "first political player" in the region, especially given that the bloc is the largest aid donor to Israel, but that the recent rise of "Daesh" - another term for the group commonly known as Islamic State (IS) - has created new challenges in the region.