Inside Story Of Palestine’s Road To Statehood

Britain, Australia, Canada and Portugal, on Sunday, formally recognised a Palestinian state, joining nearly three-quarters of United Nations member-countries who already extended such recognition.

The move came amid the ongoing war in Gaza and mounting international calls for a two-state solution.

According to an AFP tally, at least 145 of the UN’s 193 member-states now recognised Palestine as a state. That includes the latest recognitions by Britain and Canada, the first G7 countries to do so along with Australia and Portugal. France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Malta are expected to follow suit at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) this week, during a summit on the future of the two-state solution chaired by France and Saudi Arabia.

While support for Palestinian statehood has widened, recognition remains uneven. At least 45 countries, including Israel, the United States and their allies, do not recognise Palestine. In Asia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore have withheld recognition, as have Cameroon in Africa, Panama in Latin America and most countries in Oceania.

Europe is the most divided continent. Until the mid-2010s, Western and Northern Europe were united in non-recognition, except for Sweden, which broke ranks in 2014. The war in Gaza, however, has shifted positions: Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia recognised Palestine in 2024, followed by Sunday’s move from the UK and Portugal. Italy and Germany have said they do not plan to recognise a Palestinian state.

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) first proclaimed an independent Palestinian state in exile on November 15, 1988. Algeria became the first to recognise it minutes later, with dozens of other countries quickly following. Another wave of recognitions came in 2010 and 2011, and since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, an additional 13 countries have joined the list.

Despite widespread recognition, Israel, which occupies the West Bank while Gaza lies in ruins, remains firmly opposed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “completely rejects the idea of a Palestinian state.”