Multiple EU countries have moved this week to join the list of over 140 nations which formally recognise Palestine as a state.
The leaders of Norway, Ireland and Spain confirmed on Wednesday morning that their countries would officially recognise Palestinian statehood, with this recognition formally taking effect from 28 May.
The announcements, which were expected, come amid the ongoing conflict in the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza and days after it emerged that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be among those facing an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.
It also follows a United Nations (UN) General Assembly vote earlier this month overwhelmingly backing a bid for Palestine to become a full UN member.
Here’s a full list of countries that recognise Palestine as a state and what that means, as well as the reason why the UK is not among them.
Which countries recognise Palestine as a state?
To date, 146 of the 193 members of the UN recognise Palestine as a state.
A Palestinian state was first declared, claiming sovereignty over the internationally recognised Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank, by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) on 15 November, 1988.
It was recognised immediately by a dozen countries, mostly members of the Arab League, while the Soviet Union, Eastern Bloc and most of the Muslim world soon followed.
Sweden has until now been the only EU member in Western Europe to unilaterally recognise Palestine as a state, having done so in 2014.
Several EU member states – Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia – all announced their recognition of a Palestinian state prior to joining the EU.
Ten countries in the G20 – Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey – recognise a Palestinian state, but none of the G7 – the UK, United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy or Japan – do.
Below are the 146 UN members which recognise a Palestinian state as of May 2024, with the latest additions in bold:
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belize
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Congo
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- DR Congo
- East Timor
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Equatorial Guinea
- Gabon
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire)
- Jamaica
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Qatar
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Sao Tome and the Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Slovakia
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- St Kitts and Nevis
- Sudan
- Suriname
- Sweden
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- The Gambia
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
This list could soon grow, with several other countries also understood to have held recent talks with Ireland, Spain and Norway over their views that the EU should recognise Palestine as a state.
These include the likes of Belgium and Slovenia, with Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob saying earlier this week that his country would recognise Palestine’s statehood by mid-June.
What does it mean to recognise a state?
Being recognised as a state essentially means a country gains official sovereignty, or supreme authority, over its own territory.
Palestine has been classed as a “non-member observer state” within the UN since November 2012. If accepted, its bid to have that status upgraded to that of a full UN member – a proposal which the UN General Assembly earlier this month recommended the UN Security Council reconsider “favourably” – would effectively mean Palestinian statehood has been officially recognised.
It would mean Palestine would receive the same recognition, and therefore should theoretically receive the same authority over its own recognised territories of Gaza and the West Bank, as Israel was officially afforded in the late 1940s.
The UN General Assembly also passed a resolution this month granting additional rights to Palestine – officially referred to as the State of Palestine at the UN – including being seated with other UN member states, being able to participate in committees and the right to introduce proposals and agenda items, but did not grant them the right to vote.
The press conference by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and foreign minister Espen Barth Eide on Wednesday included the announcement that Norway’s recognition of the territorial demarcation between Palestine and Israel would be based on the borders from before the Six-Day War in June 1967 – something various Palestinian groups have called for, which would see the current borders of the occupied West Bank extended.
All three countries that announced their recognition of a Palestinian state this week stressed that a two-state solution was essential for peace in the region.
“There will be no peace in the Middle East without a two-state solution,” Mr Støre said. “There can be no two-state solution without a Palestinian state.
“In other words, a Palestinian state is a prerequisite for achieving peace in the Middle East.”
Why doesn’t Britain recognise Palestine as a state?
The UK is among some 40 countries which are yet to announce their formal recognition of Palestine as a state.
A non-binding motion to recognise Palestine was passed by the House of Commons in October 2014, voting in favour of the following: “That this House believes that the government should recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel, as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution.”
However, this has not been taken up by the government, which reiterated its position in both 2020 and then 2021 with the following statement: “The UK government position is clear: the UK will recognise a Palestinian state at a time when it best serves the object of peace.
“Bilateral recognition in itself cannot, and will not, end the occupation. The UK government continue to believe that without a negotiated peace agreement, the occupation, and the problems that come with it, will continue. We are committed to the objective of a sovereign, prosperous and peaceful Palestinian state, living side by side with a safe and secure Israel.”
In February 2021, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “The UK will recognise a Palestinian state at a time of our choosing, and when it best serves the objective of peace.”
Earlier this year, UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron suggested that Britain may consider recognising Palestine as a state, but this was met with criticism from several Tory MPs.