UK, Australia, Canada and Portugal recognise Palestinian state

Britain, Australia and Canada Sunday recognised a Palestinian state in a seismic shift in decades of Western foreign policy, triggering swift Israeli anger.

Portugal also declared later in the day that it recognises Palestine as a state.

"Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine," UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a message on X.

Britain and Canada became the first G7 countries to take the step, with France and other nations expected to follow at the annual UN General Assembly, which opens Monday in New York.

Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine. pic.twitter.com/yrg6Lywc1s

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) September 21, 2025

"Canada recognises the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel," Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X.

Australia "formally recognises the independent and sovereign State of Palestine", Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday.

"In doing so, Australia recognises the legitimate and long held aspirations of the people of Palestine to a state of their own," Albanese said in a statement.

"Today's act of recognition reflects Australia's longstanding commitment to a two-state solution, which has always been the only path to enduring peace and security for the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples."

Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel told reporters that recognising the State of Palestine is "the fulfilment of a fundamental, consistent, and widely agreed policy."

He spoke in New York ahead of the annual UN General Assembly, which opens Monday.

"Portugal advocates the two-state solution as the only path to a just and lasting peace, one that promotes coexistence and peaceful relations between Israel and Palestine," he added.

The move has been met with reminders for these countries to remember Israel's actions in Gaza, where more than 65,000 people have been killed in the nearly two-year war, most of them civilians according to Gaza's health ministry.

"Alongside finally recognising the State of Palestine, the UK government should also recognise some hard truths: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and by continuing to allow arms transfers to Israel, and failing to take meaningful action to hold perpetrators accountable, the UK remains complicit in the very atrocities that threaten Palestinians’ existence and nationhood," Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)'s Director of Advocacy and Campaigns, Rohan Talbot, said in a statement.

Talbot adds that the UK government must take concrete action that will help stop the genocide and end Israel’s illegal occupation by ending arms sales and banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements.

Dr Sara Husseini, director of the British Palestinian Committee, said: "The government’s recognition of Palestine as a state must be followed by concrete action. Israeli forces are obliterating Gaza City, while in the West Bank, Israel advances annexation and expulsions. Palestinians, and the British public, expect comprehensive sanctions, no military collaboration, and an end to British participation in this ongoing genocide."

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that Britain's recognition of a Palestinian state was a necessary step toward lasting peace in the region.

"His excellency praised the United Kingdom's recognition of the independent State of Palestine, affirming that it constitutes an important and necessary step toward achieving a just and lasting peace in accordance with international legitimacy," Abbas's office said in a statement.

However, the recognition has been met with fierce condemnation from Israel, including two Israeli far-right ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, calling for the annexation of the occupied West Bank.

It is a watershed moment for Palestinians and their decades-long ambitions for statehood, with the most powerful Western nations having long argued it should only come as part of a negotiated peace deal with Israel.

But the move puts those countries at odds with the United States and Israel, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacting angrily and vowing to oppose it at the UN talks.

Calls for a Palestinian state "would endanger our existence and serve as absurd reward for terrorism," Netanyahu said Sunday.

A growing number of longtime allies have shifted positions, as Israel has intensified its Gaza offensive, launching an unprecedented assault on Gaza City.

The Gaza Strip has suffered vast destruction, a spiralling death toll and a lack of food that has sparked a major humanitarian crisis since the start of the conflict which has drawn an international outcry.