Recognition of a Palestinian state is likely to dominate proceedings at the UN beginning Sept 23, 2025, when world leaders will gather for the annual general assembly.
Of the 193 existing UN member states, some 150 now recognise a Palestinian state. Ahead of the UN gathering in New York, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom become the latest. And that number is expected to increase in the coming days, with several more countries expected to officially announce similar recognition.
That a host of Western nations are adding their names to the near-universal list of Global South countries that already recognise a Palestinian state is a major diplomatic win for the cause of an independent, sovereign and self-governed nation for Palestinians. Conversely, it is a massive diplomatic loss for Israel – especially coming just two years after the West stood shoulder to shoulder with Israel following the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
As a scholar of modern Palestinian history, I know that this diplomatic moment is decades in the making. But I am also aware that symbolic diplomatic breakthroughs on the issue of Palestinian statehood have occurred before, only to prove meaningless in the face of events that make statehood less likely.