Portugal Becomes Latest EU Nation to Recognize Palestine

Portugal has become the latest European nation to recognize the State of Palestine a historic shift in Western foreign policy that quickly drew condemnation from Israel and criticism from the United States.

In Gaza, Palestinians hailed the decision as a symbolic victory, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded defiantly, declaring that a Palestinian state “will never exist.”

Washington also dismissed the recognition as “performative,” insisting its priority remains a negotiated diplomatic solution to the Israel–Hamas conflict.

Several other countries, including France, are expected to extend recognition of Palestine during high-level discussions at the UN General Assembly opening in New York on Monday.

Israel, meanwhile, is facing mounting international pressure over its war in Gaza, which has created a devastating humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

Netanyahu blasted the recognition drive as “absurd,” arguing it would “endanger Israel’s existence.” He vowed: “No Palestinian state will ever be established west of the Jordan River.”

The Israeli leader also pledged to push ahead with the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, territory under Israeli control since 1967 in defiance of international law.

The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain was formally recognising the State of Palestine “to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution”.

Britain and Canada became the first members of the Group of Seven advanced economies to take the step.

The United States — a staunch ally of Israel — said its “focus remains on serious diplomacy, not performative gestures”.

“Our priorities are clear: the release of the hostages, the security of Israel, and peace and prosperity for the entire region that is only possible free from Hamas,” a State Department spokesperson said on condition of anonymity.

Moral victory

The moves are a watershed moment for Palestinians and their ambitions for statehood, with the most powerful Western nations having long argued recognition should only come as part of a negotiated peace deal with Israel.

Three-quarters of UN members now recognise the State of Palestine, with at least 145 of the 193 member countries having done so, according to an AFP tally.

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the move “recognises the legitimate and long held aspirations of the people of Palestine”, while Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel called the two-state solution “the only path to a just and lasting peace”.

On the ground in Gaza, many saw recognition as an affirmation of their existence after nearly two years of war between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

“This recognition shows that the world is finally starting to hear our voice and that in itself is a moral victory,” said Salwa Mansour, 35, who has been displaced from the southern city of Rafah to Al-Mawasi.

“Despite all the pain, death and massacres we’re living through, we cling to anything that brings even the smallest bit of hope,” she added.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas hailed the recognitions as “an important and necessary step toward achieving a just and lasting peace”.

Although a largely symbolic move, it puts the four countries at odds with the United States and Israel.

US President Donald Trump said last week after talks with Starmer that “one of our few disagreements” was over Palestinian statehood.

Special burden

A growing number of established Israeli allies have shifted their long-held positions as Israel has intensified its Gaza offensive, which began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.

Since then, the Gaza Strip has suffered vast destruction, with a growing international outcry over the besieged coastal territory’s spiralling death toll and a UN-declared famine.

The UK government has come under increasing public pressure to act, with thousands of people rallying every month on the streets.

Starmer said on Sunday that Britain was acting “in the face of the growing horror in the Middle East”, and renewed calls for a ceasefire.

Starmer also confirmed plans to bolster sanctions on Hamas, denying recognition was a “reward”.

Hamas’s 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 health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which the UN considers reliable.

Many obstacles remain before realising Palestinian statehood, including a decision on who would run the territory.