Norway, Ireland and Spain announced on Tuesday that they would formally recognize Palestine as a state.
Wednesday’s announcement prompted Israel to immediately recall its envoys to Ireland and Norway for “urgent consultations.”
“Today I send a clear message to Ireland and Norway: Israel will not remain silent on this issue,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. He threatened to also withdraw the Israeli ambassador from Spain.
Additionally, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would stop transferring tax funds to the Palestinian Authority (PA). Israel, which illegally occupies the West Bank under international law, is required to transfer taxes collected in the Palestinian territory to the Palestinian Authority, which governs it.
Norway, Spain and Ireland made their announcements as a growing number of countries publicly consider recognizing Palestine as a state. This is particularly true in Europe, traditionally an exception on the issue. Slovenia, Malta and Belgium are other countries on the continent discussing whether and when to recognize a Palestinian state. Currently, in addition to Norway, Ireland and Spain, nine other European countries recognize the state.
Countries that recognized Palestine in 2024
This month, 143 of the 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of Palestinian membership in the UN, something only states can do.
Most countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia recognize Palestinian statehood. However, this is not the case for the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea and many Western European states.
The countries that recognized Palestine this year are the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados.
Recognition from 2011 to 2023
In 2011, despite Palestine’s failure to join the UN after campaigning for full membership, UNESCO granted Palestinians full membership in the UN cultural agency, which led the United States to suspend funding for the organization.
In 2012, the General Assembly voted to change Palestine’s status to a “non-member observer state” and in 2015, the International Criminal Court recognized Palestine as a party.
In 2014, Sweden became the first Western European country to recognize Palestine.
Here are the countries that have recognized Palestine in the last 12 years:
2023: Mexico
2019: Saint Kitts and Nevis
2018: Colombia
2015 : St. LUCIA
2014 : Sweden
2013: Guatemala, Haiti, Vatican
2012: Thailand
2011: Chile, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Lesotho, South Sudan, Syria, Liberia, El Salvador, Honduras, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Iceland
Recognition from 2000 to 2010
Under the terms of the Oslo Accords on May 4, 1999, Palestine was supposed to be independent. However, the new millennium marks the beginning of the second Intifada.
Here are the countries that recognized Palestine during the first decade of this century:
2010: Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador
2009: Venezuela, Dominican Republic
2008: Costa Rica, Lebanon, Ivory Coast
2006: Montenegro
2005: Paraguay
2004 : East Timor
Recognition from 1989 to 1999
The first Oslo Accord was signed on September 13, 1993. The agreement between Israeli and Palestinian leaders saw each side recognize each other for the first time.
Both sides also pledged to end their decades-long conflict. A second agreement was signed in September 1995. The Oslo Accords were supposed to bring Palestinian self-determination in the form of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Here are the nations that recognized Palestine during the last decade of the 20th century:
1998: Malawi
1995: South Africa, Kyrgyzstan
1994: Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Papua New Guinea
1992: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
1991: Eswatini
1989: Rwanda, Ethiopia, Iran, Benin, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Vanuatu, Philippines
1988
On November 15, 1988, at the start of the first Intifada, Yasser Arafat, president of the Palestine Liberation Organization, proclaimed Palestine as an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
He did so from Algiers, and Algeria became the first country to officially recognize Palestine.
Most European countries recognizing Palestine did so within the framework of the former Soviet bloc:
1988: Algeria, Bahrain, Indonesia, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Somalia, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cuba, Jordan, Madagascar, Malta, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates , Serbia, Zambia, Albania, Brunei, Djibouti, Mauritius, Sudan, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Egypt, Gambia, India, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Namibia, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cambodia, Mali, Mongolia, Senegal, Hungary, Cape Verde, North Korea, Niger, Romania, Tanzania, Bulgaria, Maldives, Ghana, Togo, Zimbabwe, Chad, Laos, Sierra Leone, Uganda , Republic of Congo, Angola, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, Oman, Poland, Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, Nepal, Burundi, Central African Republic, Bhutan, Western Sahara