More and more countries are recognising the state of Palestine
Rights — di Luigi Mastrodonato
152 UN member countries now recognise Palestine. France, the United Kingdom and other Western nations have now joined their ranks.
More and more countries are recognising the state of Palestine
152 UN member countries now recognise Palestine. France, the United Kingdom and other Western nations have now joined their ranks.
On 22 September, France recognised the state of Palestine. President Emmanuel Macron had made the promise in spring, and the official announcement came during the UN General Assembly in New York. France's recognition is only the latest in a series of such acknowledgements by so-called Western countries. In the preceding days, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Portugal had done the same, while last year the Palestinian state had been recognised by Ireland, Spain and Norway.
Today, 152 of the 193 United Nations member states recognise Palestine. Yet the creation of a Palestinian state remains a distant dream.
France's recognition
"The moment has come. That is why, faithful to my country's historic commitment to the Middle East and to peace between Israel and the Palestinians, I declare that today France recognises the state of Palestine." On 22 September, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke these words in the hall of the UN General Assembly in New York, during the opening week of the eightieth UN General Assembly, which brings together representatives of member states every year.
I declare that today, France recognizes the State of Palestine.
When one state recognises another, it effectively certifies its existence, the self-determination of its people and its national sovereignty. This also entails the opening of embassies and consulates and the deployment of diplomatic staff in the country in question. Macron said this step will only take place once Hamas has released all Israeli hostages and a ceasefire agreement has been reached in the Gaza Strip. Since 7 October 2023, Israel has been carrying out a genocide there that has so far claimed more than 64,000 lives.
During his address, the French president also presented a plan for the future of the Palestinian state, which would involve the creation of an International Stabilisation Force aimed at supporting the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which currently governs parts of the West Bank, in the reconstruction of Gaza, in governance and in working towards a two-state solution.
The United Kingdom, Australia and others
Alongside France, other countries announced their recognition of Palestine on 22 September. These include Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, the Principality of Monaco and Andorra, which were present at the UN meeting on the two-state solution chaired by France and Saudi Arabia and boycotted by Israel and the United States. Belgium announced that its recognition will only take effect once Hamas has freed the Israeli hostages and a ceasefire has been reached.
The UK has announced its recognition of the State of Palestine.
Find out more about the context of today's historic decision ↓
Find out more about the context of today's historic decision ↓
On 21 September, the United Kingdom recognised the state of Palestine. The announcement came from Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who justified the decision as a necessary step towards a two-state solution, strongly criticised Hamas while also pointing the finger at Israel for the hunger and devastation imposed on the Gaza Strip. On the same day, further announcements of recognition of the Palestinian state came from Portugal, Canada and Australia. In each case, the respective prime ministers emphasised that the decision should be seen as part of the international effort towards a two-state solution. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also referred to the "legitimate and long-denied aspirations of the Palestinian people to have a state of their own".
152 states out of 198
This small Western wave of recognition of the Palestinian state is no coincidence, but comes as a symbolic gesture and a show of pressure at a particular moment — namely the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly. US President Donald Trump denied a visa to the Palestinian delegation, which has therefore been forced to participate via videoconference, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be present in person.
Last year too, other major countries from the so-called Western bloc had recognised the Palestinian state. On 28 May 2024, Spain, Ireland and Norway had formalised this decision, joining nine other European Union countries already on the list: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and Hungary — not coincidentally, countries from central and eastern Europe. Beyond these, Palestine has historically been recognised by the vast majority of countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa. With the recognitions by France and other countries in recent hours, 152 UN member states now recognise Palestine. Italy is not among them.
World leaders recognised Palestinian statehood ahead of this week's UN General Assembly, aiming to revive the two-state solution and press for an end to the war on Gaza, while Israel and the US boycotted the three-hour pre-summit.
The creation of a Palestinian state nonetheless remains a distant dream. Palestinian territory is divided between the Gaza Strip, now reduced to rubble by the Israeli army, East Jerusalem, where Israel exercises broad power and continues its colonisation, and the West Bank, where illegal Israeli settlements continue to take land away from Palestine. Israel's aggression makes it difficult to identify a defined territory for the Palestinian state — one of the key requirements for statehood. This also complicates governance of the territory, which in Palestine's case is split between Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the PNA in the West Bank. In short, Israel is acting to make the creation of a Palestinian state impossible, but with the new wave of recognitions the international community is increasing pressure on the country.