Group of western nations ‘express willingness’ to recognise Palestinian statehood

Foreign ministers issue joint statement calling recognition an essential step towards the two-state solution

Pro-Palestinian protesters in Malta's capital Valletta. Reuters

A group of nations, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, have said they are willing to recognise a Palestinian state, joining France and other western nations that already have done so.

Foreign ministers from 15 nations issued a joint declaration on Tuesday during a UN conference, hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, that is pushing for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Other countries included Andorra, Malta, Iceland, Portugal, San Marino and Finland. Slovenia, Spain, Ireland, Portugal and Norway have already recognised Palestine but used the statement to express their commitment to a two-state solution.

Britain set to recognise Palestinian state

Read More

Earlier on Tuesday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK would move towards recognising a Palestinian state unless Israel ends the Gaza war. The UK did not sign the joint statement.

We “have already recognised, have expressed or express the willingness or the positive consideration of our countries to recognise the State of Palestine”, the ministers wrote.

The foreign ministers invited all countries that have not done so to join “this call”.

They also expressed their “determination to work on an architecture for the 'day after' in Gaza which guarantees the reconstruction of Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from the Palestinian governance”.

In addition, they urged countries who have not done so yet to establish relations with Israel and expressed their willingness to enter discussions on Israel's regional integration.

The document is intended to complement not replace – the outcome of the recent UN conference on the two-state solution.

The conference which produced the first UN-backed text, was endorsed by Arab states, who officially condemned the October 7 attacks. It is a move seen as signalling a readiness to normalise ties with Israel and support broader regional peace and stability.

Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela said his country would recognise a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly in September. “Our position reflects our commitment to efforts for a lasting peace in the Middle East,” he said in a Facebook post.

French President Emmanuel Macron said last week that his country would recognise Palestine as a state, as anger mounts over the death toll in Gaza and the growing number of people starving in the coastal enclave.

Although more than 140 countries already recognise the State of Palestine, none of them carry the weight of Britain and France, nuclear-armed allies of Israel with permanent seats on the UN Security Council.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot welcomed London joining “the momentum created by France” to “stop the endless cycle of violence”.