International recognition of Palestine

As of September 2025, the State of Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state by 157 of the 193 member states of the United Nations, or just over 80% of all UN members. It has been a non-member observer state of the UN General Assembly since November 2012. This limited status is largely due to the fact that the United States, a permanent member of the UN Security Council with veto power, has consistently blocked Palestine's full UN membership; Palestine is recognized by the other four permanent members, which are China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom.
The State of Palestine was officially declared by the Palestine Liberation Organization on 15 November 1988, claiming sovereignty over the internationally recognized Palestinian territories: the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. By the end of 1988, the Palestinian state was recognized by 78 countries. In an attempt to solve the decades-long Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the Oslo Accords were signed between Israel and the PLO in 1993 and 1995, creating the Palestinian Authority as a self-governing interim administration in Gaza and around 40% of the West Bank.
The Israeli–Palestinian peace process stalled during Benjamin Netanyahu's tenures as Prime Minister of Israel, with Netanyahu opposing their statehood outside of Israel's control, in some cases prompting a more radical Palestinian response. In 2011, the State of Palestine was admitted into UNESCO. In 2012, it was accepted as an observer state of the UN General Assembly and the PA began to officially use the name "State of Palestine" for all purposes. In December 2014, the International Criminal Court recognized Palestine as a state.
Many countries support a two-state solution to the conflict. Fourteen of the nineteen member countries of the G20, plus permanent invitee Spain, have recognized Palestine as a state. The other five do not recognize Palestine, but Italy and Japan have indicated that they would, the former contingent on Hamas meeting certain conditions.

History

Background

On 22 November 1974, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3236 recognized the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, national independence and sovereignty in Palestine. It also recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and accorded it observer status in the United Nations. The State of Palestine was officially declared by the PLO on 15 November 1988, claiming sovereignty over the internationally recognized Palestinian territories: the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The designation "Palestine" for the PLO was adopted by the UN in 1988 in acknowledgment of the Palestinian declaration of independence.
Shortly after the 1988 declaration, the State of Palestine was recognized by many developing states in Africa and Asia, and from communist and non-aligned states. At that time, the United States was using its Foreign Assistance Act and other measures to discourage other countries and international organizations from extending recognition. Although these measures were successful in many cases, the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference immediately published statements of recognition of, support for, and solidarity with Palestine, which was accepted as a member state in both forums. By the end of 1988, the Palestinian state was recognized by 78 countries.
In February 1989 at the UN Security Council, the PLO representative acknowledged that 94 states had recognized the new Palestinian state. It subsequently attempted to gain membership as a state in several agencies connected to the UN, but its efforts faced threats from the U.S. that it would withhold funding from any organization that admitted Palestine. For example, in April of the same year, the PLO applied for membership as a state in the World Health Organization, an application that failed to produce a result after the U.S. informed the organization that it would withdraw funding if Palestine were admitted. In May, a group of OIC members submitted to UNESCO an application for membership on behalf of Palestine, and listed a total of 91 states that had recognized the State of Palestine.
In June 1989, the PLO submitted to the government of Switzerland letters of accession to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. As the depositary state, Switzerland determined that because the question of Palestinian statehood had not been settled within the international community, it was therefore incapable of determining whether the letter constituted a valid instrument of accession.

Due to the within the international community as to the existence or the non-existence of a State of Palestine and as long as the issue has not been settled in an appropriate framework, the Swiss Government, in its capacity as depositary of the Geneva Conventions and their additional Protocols, is not in a position to decide whether this communication can be considered as an instrument of accession in the sense of the relevant provisions of the Conventions and their additional Protocols.

Consequently, in November 1989, the Arab League proposed a General Assembly resolution to formally recognize the PLO as the government of an independent Palestinian state. The draft was abandoned when the U.S. again threatened to cut off its financing for the UN should the vote go ahead. The Arab states agreed not to press the resolution, but demanded that the U.S. promise not to threaten the UN with financial sanctions again.
Many of the early statements of recognition of the State of Palestine were termed ambiguously. In addition, hesitation from others did not necessarily mean that these nations did not regard Palestine as a state. This has seemingly resulted in confusion regarding the number of states that have officially recognized the state declared in 1988. Numbers reported in the past are often conflicting, with figures as high as 130 being seen frequently. In July 2011, in an interview with Haaretz, Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour claimed that 122 states had so far extended formal recognition. At the end of the month, the PLO published a paper on why the world's governments should recognize the State of Palestine and listed the 122 countries that had already done so. By the end of September the same year, Mansour claimed the figure had reached 139.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, several Western and Caribbean states began recognizing Palestine. In May 2024, Ireland, Norway, and Spain recognized Palestine as a coordinated effort. In an effort led by France, several more Western states recognized Palestine just before the general debate of the eightieth session of the UN General Assembly in September 2025. This move included recognition from G7 states for the first time, and was described as a "historic diplomatic shift". Additionally, a one-day summit was organized on 22 September, one day before the general debate began, by France and Saudi Arabia to discuss the two-state solution.

Israeli position

Between the end of the Six-Day War and the Oslo Accords, no Israeli government proposed a Palestinian state. During Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of 1996–1999, he accused the two previous governments of bringing closer to realization what he claimed to be the "danger" of a Palestinian state, and stated that his main policy goal was to ensure that the Palestinian Authority did not evolve beyond an autonomy.
In June 2003, Ariel Sharon was the first Israeli Prime Minister to proclaim that a Palestinian state was a possibility. Sharon addressed "the possibility of the establishment of a Palestinian state with temporary borders, if conditions permit" and claimed that interim Palestinian state would be "completely demilitarised, and this nation will be the home of the Palestinian diaspora and Palestinian refugees will not be allowed into Israeli territory."
The government headed by Ehud Olmert repeated the same objective. Netanyahu's second government in 2009 again claimed that a Palestinian state posed a danger for Israel. The government position changed following American pressure from the Obama administration. On 14 June 2009, Netanyahu for the first time made a speech in which he supported the notion of a demilitarized and territorially reduced Palestinian state. This position met some criticism for its lack of commitment on the territories to be ceded to the Palestinian state in the future. In February 2023, Netanyahu said: "I'm certainly willing to have them have all the powers that they need to govern themselves, but none of the powers that can threaten us, and this means that Israel should have the overriding security responsibility." In 2025, amid the ongoing Gaza war and multiple countries announcing plans to recognize Palestine, Netanyahu backtracked on his stance, vowing that a Palestinian state "will not be established" in a speech.
Israel has refused to accept the 1967 borders, which Israeli military experts have argued are strategically indefensible. It also opposes the Palestinian plan of approaching the UN General Assembly on the matter of statehood, as it claims it does not honour the Oslo Accords agreement in which both sides agreed not to pursue unilateral moves.

Timeline of Palestine in the United Nations

On 14 October 1974, the Palestine Liberation Organization was recognized by the UN General Assembly as the representative of the Palestinian people and granted the right to participate in the deliberations of the General Assembly on the question of Palestine in plenary meetings.
On 22 November 1974, the PLO was granted non-state observer status, allowing the PLO to participate in all Assembly sessions, as well as in other UN platforms.
On 15 December 1988, UN General Assembly Resolution 43/177 acknowledged the Palestinian Declaration of Independence of November 1988 and replaced the designation "Palestine Liberation Organization" with "Palestine" in the UN system.
On 23 September 2011, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas submitted an application for membership of Palestine in the UN.
On 29 November 2012, UN General Assembly resolution 67/19 granted Palestine non-member observer state status.
On 17 December 2012, UN Chief of Protocol Yeocheol Yoon decided that the constitutional name "State of Palestine" shall be used by the Secretariat in all official UN documents.
On 10 May 2024, UN General Assembly Resolution ES-10/23 granted additional rights to the State of Palestine at the UN, including being seated with member states, the right to introduce proposals and agenda items, and participate in committees, but did not grant them the right to vote.
On 28–30 July 2025, a multilateral conference was held at UN headquarters in New York at the initiative of the French and Saudi governments, calling for ending the war in Gaza and establishing a Palestinian state. It reconvened on 22 September.