PARIS: Three-quarters of UN members have already or soon plan to recognise Palestinian statehood, with Australia on Monday becoming the latest to promise it will do so at the UN General Asse­mbly next month.

“Australia will recognise the state of Palestine at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September, to contribute to international momentum towards a two-state solution, a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages,” Prime Minister Ant­h­ony Albanese said in a statement.

The conflict raging in Gaza since Oct 2023 has revived a global push for Palestinians to be given a state of their own.

The action breaks with a long-held view that Palesti­nians could only gain statehood as part of a negotiated peace with Israel.

At least 145 of the 193 UN members now recognise or plan to recognise a Palest­inian state, including Fra­nce, Canada and Britain.

Here is a recap of the Palestinians’ quest for statehood:

1988: Arafat proclaims state

On Nov 15, 1988, during the first intifada, Palesti­nian leader Yasser Arafat unilaterally proclaimed an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.

He made the announcement in Algiers at a meeting of the exiled Palest­inian National Council, which adopted the two-state solution as a goal, with independent Israeli and Palestinian states existing side by side.

Minutes later, Algeria became the first country to officially recognise an inde­pendent Palestinian state.

2011-2012: UN recognition

In 2011, with peace talks at a standstill, the Palestinians pushed ahead with a campaign for full UN membership.

The quest failed, but in a groundbreaking move on Oct 31 of that year, the UN cultural agency Unesco voted to accept the Palestinians as a full member, much to the dismay of Israel and the United States.

In Nov 2012, the Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at the United Nations in New York after the General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to upgrade the status of Palestinians to “non-member observer state”.

New push

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza over the last two years has boosted support for Palestinian statehood.

Four Caribbean countries (Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados and the Bahamas) and Armenia took the diplomatic step last year.

So did four European countries: Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia, the latter three EU members.

Within the European Union, this was a first in 10 years since Sweden’s move in 2014, which resulted in years of strained relations with Israel.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2025