France will recognize Palestinian statehood. How many countries already do?
'Consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine,' French President Emmanuel Macron announced in a statement posted on X on July 24.
Macron, founder of the centrist Renaissance Party, said he will make the official announcement during the United Nations General Assembly, which will take place in New York in September.
He also reiterated his call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, where nearly 60,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel's war against Hamas and millions more face famine, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Many attempting to get food have been killed by Israeli forces, the U.N. human rights office said.
'This move is a victory for the Palestinian cause,' Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said in a statement. 'It reflects France's genuine commitment to supporting the Palestinian people…'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu denounced Macron's move, writing on X, 'A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it.'
The U.S. government echoed this sentiment. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Macron's announcement a 'reckless decision' that 'only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace.'
How many countries recognize state of Palestine?
France will now join the vast majority of nations — with some notable exceptions — in formally acknowledging the state of Palestine.
As of June 2024, 146 of the 193 U.N. member states, or 74%, had recognized Palestine as a sovereign nation.
Palestine was officially declared as a state in 1988 by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). As its territory, it claims the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and parts of 'historic Palestine' occupied by Israel starting in 1967, per the U.N.
Following this declaration, many countries quickly recognized Palestinian statehood, including China, Russia and India, according to the Washington Post.
Over time, most governments of South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia moved to do the same, according to the World Population Review.
The most recent nations to recognize the state of Palestine were Spain, Ireland and Norway, which did so in 2024 amid Israel's war in Gaza.
However, the U.S. and many of its western allies — including the U.K., Canada, Germany, Japan and Australia — have refrained from formally acknowledging Palestine as a nation.
France's decision, though — making it the only G7 nation to recognize Palestine — could spark a change in other western countries, policymakers and experts have said.
'For a 'European heavyweight' such as France to recognize Palestinian statehood sends a 'clear signal to the United States, Israel and the international community that what's going on in Gaza is unacceptable and that there has to be a diplomatic way out of this crisis,'' Shahram Akbarzadeh, nonresident senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, told the Washington Post.
'It's very likely now that [the United Kingdom] will do the same thing. That is where we are heading,' a senior U.K. lawmaker told the Financial Times.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer released a statement on July 24, saying, 'The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible.' He added that 'statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people,' though he stopped short of saying he would move to formally recognize the state of Palestine.
International recognition alone, though, will not change the situation on the ground; it's not a 'magic wand' that can achieve a two-state solution, according to the Associated Press. But, it could shift the global conversation.
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