Portugal joins UK, Canada, and Australia in officially recognising statehood for Palestine
Along with this, the foreign minister backed the two-state solution with Israel as the only way to lasting peace for both states and in the region.
After Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, Portugal has also announced its official recognition of the state of Palestine.
On Sunday, Portuguese foreign minister Paulo Rangel announced that Portugal now officially recognises the state of Palestine. Along with this, the foreign minister backed the two-state solution with Israel as the only way to lasting peace for both states and in the region.
"Recognizing the State of Palestine is therefore the fulfilment of a fundamental, consistent, and widely agreed policy," Rangel told reporters in New York ahead of the annual UN General Assembly.
"Portugal advocates the two-state solution as the only path to a just and lasting peace, one that promotes coexistence and peaceful relations between Israel and Palestine," he added.
UK, Canada and Australia announce formal recognition
Earlier on Sunday, UK PM Keir Starmer announced that the United Kingdom now officially recognises the state of Palestine, in a huge break way from previous British foreign policies.
Starmer's announcement also comes after Donald Trump's visit to the UK, where the US president stated that he does not agree with Starmer decision to recognise statehood for Palestine.
“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,” Starmer said in a video message.
“We recognized the state of Israel more than 75 years ago as a homeland for the Jewish people. Today we join over 150 countries who recognize a Palestinian state also," the UK PM added.
Following the UK, Canada and Australia also formally recognised Palestine.
“The current Israeli government is working methodically to prevent the prospect of a Palestinian state from ever being established,” Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said in an official statement.
“It has pursued an unrelenting policy of settlement expansion in the West Bank, which is illegal under international law. Its sustained assault in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of civilians, displaced well over one million people, and caused a devastating and preventable famine in violation of international law. It is now the avowed policy of the current Israeli government that ‘there will be no Palestinian state’, Carney added.
Meanwhile, as per Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese, the decision to recognise Palestine "recognises the legitimate and long held aspirations of the people of Palestine to a state of their own".
