International recognition of Palestine

As of September 2025, the State of Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state by 157 of the 193 member states of the United Nations (UN), or just over 80% of all UN members. It has been a non-member observer state of the UN General Assembly since November 2012. This limited status is largely due to the fact that the United States, a permanent member of the UN Security Council with veto power, has consistently blocked Palestine's full UN membership; Palestine is recognized by the other four permanent members, which are China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

The State of Palestine was officially declared by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on 15 November 1988, claiming sovereignty over the internationally recognized Palestinian territories: the West Bank (which includes East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. By the end of 1988, the Palestinian state was recognized by 78 countries. In an attempt to solve the decades-long Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the Oslo Accords were signed between Israel and the PLO in 1993 and 1995, creating the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a self-governing interim administration in Gaza and around 40% of the West Bank.

The Israeli–Palestinian peace process stalled during Benjamin Netanyahu's tenures as Prime Minister of Israel (1996–1999; 2009–2021; 2022–present), with Netanyahu opposing their statehood outside of Israel's control, in some cases prompting a more radical Palestinian response. In 2011, the State of Palestine was admitted into UNESCO. In 2012, it was accepted as an observer state of the UN General Assembly and the PA began to officially use the name "State of Palestine" for all purposes. In December 2014, the International Criminal Court recognized Palestine as a state.

Many countries support a two-state solution to the conflict. Fourteen of the nineteen member countries of the G20 (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, and the UK), plus permanent invitee Spain, have recognized Palestine as a state (four doing so in September 2025). The other five (Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and the U.S.) do not recognize Palestine, but Italy and Japan have indicated that they would, the former contingent on Hamas meeting certain conditions.

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