UK, Australia & Canada All Recognize Palestinian State As Rebuke To Israel For Gaza War

UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Sep, 2025) Britain, Australia and Canada said on Sunday that they now recognize a Palestine state, widely expected moves that mirror similar plans by other U.S. allies aimed at piling pressure on Israel as it presses on with its war in Gaza despite international outrage.

France and several other countries are expected to follow suit at the United Nations General Assembly this week, deepening Israel’s isolation and putting them at odds with Israel’s key partner, the United States.

In response, a defiant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that “there will be no Palestinian state.”

More than 140 other members of the UN already recognize Palestine, a number that has grown in the face of mounting alarm over Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

The Western move comes amid global condemnation over Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, mostly women and children, and left much of the enclave in ruins.

Last week, a United Nations commission investigating the war said Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians, an assertion Israel has rejected.

The announcements were made just ahead of the annual session of the 193-member Assembly in New York, a gathering where France and Portugal are also expected to vote for recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Diplomats said Sunday's concerted action, across three continents, will deepen the diplomatic isolation of Netanyahu. But so far, moves to recognize a Palestinian state have not curbed Israel’s military campaign in Israeli Occupied Territory.

While recognition is a symbolic act of support for Palestinian self-determination, the prospect of a viable Palestinian state — on territory now occupied or blockaded by the Israeli military — looks more elusive than it has been in decades.

“The hope for a two-state solution is fading, but we cannot let that light go out,” Britain’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said in a video statement. “Today, to revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution, I state clearly as prime minister of this great country that the United Kingdom formally recognizes the State of Palestine.”

Canada and Australia confirmed their decisions in statements released just before PM Starmer did.

Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada accused the Israeli government of “working methodically to prevent the prospect of a Palestinian state from ever being established.” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia said a two-state solution has “always been the only path to enduring peace and security for the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples.”

The flurry of announcements drew praise from Palestinian leaders and condemnation from Israel’s government.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed Starmer’s announcement as “an important and necessary step toward achieving a just and lasting peace.”

Pakistan, a staunch supporter of Palestinian self-determination, has all along pushed for the recognition of a Palestinian state.

Speaking at a UN meeting in July on two-state solution, sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, which was focused on the two-state solution, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar called for "universal recognition" of the State of Palestine and full UN membership.

He highlighted the ongoing injustice endured by the Palestinian people and demanded international accountability for war crimes.

DPM/FM Dar also presided over a UN Security Council meeting on the Palestine issue -- during Pakistan's presidency of the 15-member Council in July --reinforcing its stance.