France, Canada and the UK recognise a Palestinian state – why it matters

Australia, Canada, Portugal and the UK recognised Palestinian statehood on Sunday, 21 September, in frustration over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, amid Israel’s ongoing military offensive. 

The coordinated announcements from the four Western nations comes amid mounting global outrage over Israel’s 23-month campaign in the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians and devastated much of the region. Last week, a United Nations (UN) Independent Commission of Inquiry found that Israel has committed, and is continuing to commit, genocide in Gaza, adding to an increasing number of international bodies and rights groups which have made the same determination. 

The announcements from the UK, Portugal, Canada and Australia were made ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York, and before a high-level conference, hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, on the two-state solution on Monday afternoon.

During the high-level meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron followed suit in recognising the state of Palestine, saying it was the only solution for peace.  

“A solution exists to break the cycle of war and destruction” between Israel and the Palestinian people, Macron told delegates. “It is the recognition of the other – of their legitimacy, their humanity and their dignity.” 

Congratulating Macron on the decision, President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed the “demonstrable groundswell of support for the establishment of the much-awaited state of Palestine”.

“The only solution to this conflict is a two-state solution … We call on all states to recognise Palestine and to act in solidarity with its people,” he said.  

Addressing delegates at the high-level conference on the two-state solution, President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomes “the demonstrable groundswell of support for the establishment of the much-awaited state of #Palestine”. #UNGA pic.twitter.com/PrK1aWIIvZ

— Victoria O'Regan (@ToriOregan) September 22, 2025

In an interview with Daily Maverick in New York on Sunday, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola described the move by several states to recognise Palestine as a “turning point for the entire world”.

Read more: World summit to meet on two-state solution as support grows for Palestinian state

The recognition of Palestine by many UN member states, Lamola said, “must force the state of Israel to stop the current genocidal activities, to cease the military operations, and allow humanitarian access [into the Gaza Strip], and go back to the negotiating table that must lead to the two-state solution.”

Reuters reported that Israel’s government condemned the announcements by several of its allies on Sunday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling it a “huge reward” to Hamas’ terrorism for its October 2023 attack on Israel. 

Here’s what the wider recognition of Palestine means and why it’s significant. 

What does it mean to recognise Palestinian statehood?

According to the Southern Africa Litigation Centre’s Dr Atilla Kisla, the act of recognition means that the recognising state accepts Palestine as a sovereign nation, with the same legal standing and the same rights as any other nation.  

“The recognition of Palestine as a state not only has relevance for Palestine, but also impacts the recognising state. In bilateral dealings, the recognising state(s) can no longer treat Palestine as an entity that lacks legal personality as a subject of international law. In practice, such states must treat Palestine as a full participant in their respective bilateral relations. 

“Such States must further stop knowingly supporting violations of Palestine’s rights, its sovereignty and equality,” said Kisla. 

Daniel Forti, UN analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Daily Maverick: “Countries that recognise Palestinian statehood are establishing formal bilateral relations with Palestine, which would allow them to exchange diplomatic representation and begin discussions on strengthening economic, sociocultural or political ties.” 

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What is the significance of recognising a Palestinian state?

Most UN member states – 147 out of 193 – have already recognised a Palestinian state. The UK, Australia, Canada and Portugal join this group. 

“Nearly three-quarters of the UN membership recognised Palestinian statehood before 2025, so it is these Western countries who are now catching up with much of the rest of the world,” said Forti. 

Max Rodenbeck, the International Crisis Group’s project director for Israel-Palestine, told Daily Maverick that there’s a significance to which states have recently recognised Palestine. 

Read more: Israel-Palestine War

“What we have now is the addition of a couple of Western countries that are American allies – significantly – two of which [France and the UK] are members of the UN Security Council, which is also significant, and two of which [France and the UK] were colonial powers in the region, which is also significant,” he said. 

Rodenbeck said the UK’s decision carried particular weight given its role in Israel’s establishment as a Jewish state in Palestine in the aftermath of World War 2. 

“It has more of a symbolic significance than anything else, but the symbolic significance is important,” added Rodenbeck. 

“Another aspect of the significance is that all the previous attempts at peace between Israel and Palestinians under the auspices of the United States, mostly, but also other countries, have put Palestinian statehood at the very end of things – as if Palestinians have to behave in a particular way or do a particular thing in order to reach this statehood goal. But, by declaring Palestinian statehood upfront, it’s a kind of recognition that Palestinians have a right to statehood – it’s not something that they need to earn.

“And that is a profound and important statement, even if it doesn’t have immediate legal implications or immediate practical implications on the ground,” he continued. 

Read more: Lamola calls for more countries to ‘urgently’ recognise Palestinian statehood at UN conference

Forti added that recognition of Palestine “without accompanying steps to pressure Israel back to the negotiating table runs the risk that these countries are investing considerable diplomatic capital just to support a largely symbolic move”. 

Palestine currently has observer status at the UN, and UN secretary-general António Guterres last week said the fact that a larger number of states have recognised Palestine “strengthens that position”. 

“But, obviously, it is one thing to recognise the state of Palestine. The other thing is the state of Palestine being able to fully exercise the rights of its sovereignty, and I know that we are very far from that situation at the present moment,” he added. 

Will recognition of Palestinian statehood have any immediate impacts on the realities on the ground in Gaza? 

Forti told Daily Maverick that, in the short term, there is a risk that the Israeli government could use these countries’ decisions to recognise Palestine “as a pretext to escalate their assault on Gaza even further”. 

In response to the countries’ announcements on Sunday, several far-right Israeli officials in Netanyahu’s government have called for the full annexation of the West Bank, including Ramallah and Nablus, reported the Financial Times. DM

Victoria O’Regan is a 2025 Dag Hammarskjöld Journalism Fellow whose reporting on the 80th UN General Assembly and its activities in New York has been sponsored by the Dag Hammarskjöld Fund for Journalists.