User:Lihaas/International recognition of Palestine

Further information: Foreign relations of the Palestinian National Authority

Palestine's status is under dispute, though it declared independence November 15, 1988. 106 countries of the world recognise Palestinian sovereingty under the pre-1867 borders.

Background

The Palestinians have been working to persuade other countries to acknowledge their right to establish an independent state. Their target date is August 2011 - two years after the plan to establish a Palestinian state was first introduced by prime minister Salam Fayyad.

israel's reaction

State officials in Jerusalem expressed concern that other countries in Latin America and the world will follow in Brazil and Argentina's footsteps. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said: "This is a very disappointing step which contributes nothing to furthering the peace process." / He described the announcement as "a verbal gesture which goes against the Oslo Accords whereby a permanent solution can only be the result of negotiations." Palmor stressed that the gesture "encourages the Palestinians at the very time when they insist on avoiding negotiations." / Foreign Ministry officials have therefore started holding low-profiles talks with Latin American leaders, Ynet learned. "This is a meaningless paper, a virtual declaration. These declarations may look good in print but lack any understanding of the Middle Eastern reality," a ministry source said.

Positions taken by states

Map showing states which have recognised or have special diplomatic arrangements with the State of Palestine or another Palestinian delegation.

States which formally recognise Kosovo as independent

UN member states

	Country	Date of recognition	Status of reciprocal diplomatic relations	Notes
1	Cuba
2	Venezuela
3	Nicaragua
4	Costa Rica
4	Iran
1	Brazil	1 December 2010 Confirmed		US lawmakers have called Brazil's decision "severely misguided" and "regrettable."
2	Argentina	6 December 2010		Argentine President Cristina Kirchner wrote to her Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas saying her country recognizes a Palestine defined by 1967 borders, officials said. / "The Argentine government recognizes Palestine as a free and independent state within the borders defined in 1967," Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman said, reading from the letter.
3	Guyana	6 December 2010 Confirmed
3	Uruguay	6 December 2010 Confirmed
4	Ecuador	18 December 2010
5	Bolivia	17 December 2010
6	Chile	7 January 2011
7	Russia	18 January 2011
7	Paraguay	28 January 2011

Of the world's nine most populous states, eight (all except the United States) recognise the State of Palestine. Of the world's 20 most populous states, 15 (all except the United States, Japan, Mexico, Germany and Thailand) recognise the State of Palestine.

By contrast, the 72 UN member states which currently recognize the Republic of Kosovo as an independent state include only one of the nine most populous states (the United States) and only four of the 20 most populous states (the United States, Japan, Germany and Turkey).

States which do not formally recognise Palestine as independent

UN member states

Country	Position	Relevant international membership
United States
Israel	Claims part of the territory	Israel has only asserted sovereignty over a small portion of its territory, expanded East Jerusalem, leaving sovereignty over the rest both literally and legally uncontested.

Non-UN member states

Country	Position	Relevant international membership

Positions taken by intergovernmental organisations

Intergovernmental organisations do not themselves diplomatically recognise any state; their member states do so individually. However, depending on the intergovernmental organisation's rules of internal governance and the positions of their member states, they may express positive or negative opinions as to declarations of independence, or choose to offer or withhold membership to a newly-declared state.

International organisation	Position

Positions taken by non-state actors

International non-governmental organisations

International organisation	Position
International Olympic Committee
FIFA
Asian Football Confederation

Analysis

If the Arab League were now to call on the minority of UN member states which have not already recognised Palestine to do so promptly, it is certain that the response would be far superior (both in quantity and in quality) to the response to the recent American appeal on behalf of Kosovo.

See also

• List of diplomatic missions of Palestine
• List of diplomatic missions in Palestine

References

Category:Independence of Kosovo Category:Politics of Palestine