Headline Roundup • September 22nd, 2025
UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal Officially Recognize Palestinian State
Middle East,United Kingdom,Australia,Canada,Palestine,Israel,Gaza,Portugal,Israel Hamas Violence,Hamas,State Department
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The United Kingdom (UK), Canada, Australia and Portugal officially recognized Palestine as a state on Sunday.
The Details: The four nations, all diplomatically related to Israel, joined about 150 United Nations (UN) states – mainly in the east – by recognizing Palestinian statehood. More nations are expected to join the movement on Monday. The US State Department responded, “Our 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.”
For Context: France, Canada, and the UK announced in July that they would officially recognize Palestine in September, with the UK stipulating that its recognition would come if Israel didn’t take “substantive steps” to end the war. Many of the nations recognized Israel as a state in the mid-1900s.
How The Media Covered It: News media across the political spectrum placed a particular emphasis on the UK and its prime minister, Keir Starmer, with whom President Donald Trump met in September. Reuters (Center bias) highlighted the UK’s move as carrying “particular symbolism given its major role in Israel's creation as a modern nation in the aftermath of World War Two.” The Guardian (Left) noted that the nation “brought forward their declaration out of respect for the Jewish new year.” And Fox News (Right) said Starmer “insisted that the recognition of statehood was not a reward for Hamas.” Both Reuters and Fox quoted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion, “A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River.” Fox emphasized the forty-eight remaining Israeli hostages being held by Hamas. Reuters noted the death toll of the initial Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, but more extensively detailed Israel’s fatal damage to Palestinians.
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.
Featured Coverage of this Story
AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool, File
The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia on Sunday announced the recognition of the Palestinian state, in the hope that a two-state solution will bring peace with Israel despite protests from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the move is intended "to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis."
"We recognized the state of Israel more than 75 years ago as a homeland for the Jewish people," Starmer said in a video message posted on X...
Britain, Canada and Australia all recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday in a move borne out of frustration over the Gaza war and intended to promote a two-state solution, prompting a furious response from Israel.
The decision by three major Western nations, which have been traditional allies of Israel, aligned them with about 140 other countries also backing Palestinians' aspiration to forge an independent homeland from the Israeli-occupied territories...
A wave of Israel’s allies are announcing their recognition of the state of Palestine, as part of a wider manoeuvre designed to ostracise Hamas and challenge attempts by the Israeli government to erase the chance of a Palestinian homeland.
The UK, Canada and Australia formally declared their recognition of Palestinian statehood on Sunday in separate but coordinated statements. The move marks the first members of the G7 advanced economies to take the step...
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