Spain's foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo says Spain will vote in favor of recognition of a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly this week. He told parliament Wednesday that Spain would support the Palestinian bid at the U.N. because it feels it is the best way to advance toward peace. France on Tuesday became the first major European country to come out in favor of U.N. recognition, a move seen as a setback for Israel, according to a report of the Associated Press. The assembly is expected to vote Thursday on a resolution raising their status at the United Nations from an observer to a nonmember observer state.