Prime Minster David Cameron will abstain in a parliamentary vote on recognising Palestine as a state, his office has announced.

The motion, put forward by Labour MP Grahame Morris, has the backing of the shadow cabinet.

It says: "This House believes that the government should recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel."

It is expected that MPs from the ruling Conservative party will have a free vote on the motion, supported by most Liberal Democrat MPs, the lesser party in the coalition government.

A British Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson told Ahram Online that the UK "will recognise a Palestinian state at a time most helpful to the peace process, because a negotiated end to the occupation is the most effective way for Palestinian aspirations of statehood to be met on the ground."

British pro-Palestine activists have created an e-petition asking the UK government to recognise a state of Palestine based on its pre-1967 borders.

“We call upon Her Majesty's Government to recognise the State of Palestine on the pre-1967 borders and to require Israel to act according to her international obligations,” says the petition, which will be available to sign on the UK government's official website until 30 March 2015.

E-petitions are offered by the government as an easy and personal way for British people to influence government and parliament.

Anyone can create an e-petition about anything that the government is responsible for. If it gets more than 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in the House of Commons.