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

Portugal was also to recognise Palestinian statehood later on Sunday, as Israel came under huge international pressure over the conflict in Gaza triggered almost two years ago by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

“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.

“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.

Meanwhile, Australia announced it “formally recognises the independent and sovereign State of Palestine”, according to a post on X by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

“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 as his country joined other major Western nations in increasing pressure on Israel to end the conflict in Gaza.

“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.”

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.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said that Britain, Canada and Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state was a necessary step toward lasting peace in the region.

Welcoming the move by the three countries, Abbas said, “It constitutes an important and necessary step toward achieving a just and lasting peace in accordance with international legitimacy,” according to a statement by his office.

Abbas also called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“He emphasised that today’s priorities are achieving a ceasefire, allowing humanitarian aid to enter, securing the release of all hostages and prisoners, ensuring Israel’s complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, enabling the State of Palestine to assume full responsibilities, advancing recovery and reconstruction and halting settlement activity and settler violence, “the statement added.

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 [an] absurd reward for terrorism,” Netanyahu said on Sunday.

A growing number of longtime allies have shifted positions, as Israel has intensified its Gaza offensive, vowing to eliminate Hamas.

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.

‘Special burden’

The UK government has come under increasing public pressure to act, with thousands rallying every month on the streets. A poll released by YouGov on Friday showed two-thirds of young Britons aged 18-25 supported Palestinian statehood.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy acknowledged at the UN in July that “Britain bears a special burden of responsibility to support the two-state solution”.

Over a century ago, the UK was pivotal in laying the groundwork for the creation of the state of Israel through the 1917 Balfour Declaration.

Three-quarters of UN members already recognise Palestinian statehood, with over 140 of the 193 having taken the step.

Starmer said in July that his Labour government intended to recognise a Palestinian State unless Israel took “substantive” steps, including reaching a ceasefire in Gaza, getting more aid into the territory and confirming it would not annex the West Bank.

Starmer has also repeatedly called on Hamas to release the remaining hostages they captured in the 2023 attack, and is expected to set out new sanctions on the Palestinian group.

Lammy told the BBC on Sunday that the Palestinian Authority — the civilian body that governs in areas of the West Bank — had been calling for the move for some time, “and I think a lot of that is wrapped up in hope”.

“Will this feed children? No, it won’t, that’s down to humanitarian aid. Will this free hostages? That must be down to a ceasefire.” But he said it was an attempt to “hold out for” a two-state solution.

Palestinian foreign minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin told AFP last week: “Recognition is not symbolic. It sends a very clear message to the Israelis on their illusions on continuing their occupation forever,” she said.

‘Worrying evolution’

Hamas’s 2023 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 65,208 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

Portugal said that it would also formally declare its recognition in New York on Sunday.

“By acting now, as the Portuguese government has decided, we’re keeping alive the possibility of having two states,” Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said.