Three-Quarters of UN Members Back Palestinian Statehood

AFP/APP

Paris: Around three-quarters of United Nations member states have already recognised—or plan to recognise—Palestinian statehood, with Australia on Monday becoming the latest to pledge support at the UN General Assembly in September.

The ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, triggered by the Palestinian militant group’s October 7, 2023 attack, has renewed global momentum for granting the Palestinians a state of their own. This shift marks a break from the long-held view that Palestinian statehood could only emerge through a negotiated peace agreement with Israel.

According to an AFP tally, at least 145 of the 193 UN member states now recognise, or intend to recognise, Palestine—including France, Canada, and Britain.

A Brief History of the Palestinian Statehood Bid

1988 – Arafat’s Declaration

On November 15, 1988, amid the first Palestinian intifada against Israeli rule, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat proclaimed an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. The announcement came in Algiers during a meeting of the exiled Palestinian National Council, which formally endorsed the two-state solution—independent Israeli and Palestinian states living side-by-side.

Algeria became the first nation to officially recognise Palestine, followed within a week by most of the Arab world, India, Turkey, much of Africa, and several Central and Eastern European nations.

A fresh wave of recognition came in late 2010 and early 2011, driven by the collapse of Middle East peace talks. South American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, endorsed Palestinian statehood in response to Israel’s decision to end a temporary freeze on settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.

2011–2012 – UN Recognition Milestones

In 2011, with peace talks stalled, Palestinians sought full UN membership. Although unsuccessful, they achieved a breakthrough on October 31, 2011, when UNESCO voted to admit them as a full member—drawing sharp criticism from Israel and the United States.

In November 2012, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to upgrade Palestine’s status to a “non-member observer state”. This allowed the Palestinian flag to be raised at the UN headquarters in New York for the first time.

By 2015, the International Criminal Court accepted Palestine as a state party, further strengthening its international standing.

2024–2025 – Renewed Diplomatic Push

Israel’s ongoing Gaza offensive has triggered a new wave of recognition. In 2024 alone, four Caribbean nations—Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and the Bahamas—joined Armenia in formally recognising Palestine.

In Europe, Norway, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia (three of them EU members) took similar steps—the first such moves in the bloc since Sweden’s 2014 recognition, which had strained ties with Israel. Some EU states, such as Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania, had already recognised Palestine in 1988, while others, like Hungary and the Czech Republic, have withheld or withdrawn recognition.

On Monday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that “Australia will recognise the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own” at the September UN General Assembly session. France has also pledged recognition next month, while Britain has linked its decision to Israel taking “substantive steps” such as agreeing to a Gaza ceasefire.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed that Canada will recognise a Palestinian state in September—marking a sharp policy shift immediately rejected by Israel.

Other nations, including Malta, Finland, and Portugal, have also signalled they may soon follow suit.