Portugal to officially recognize State of Palestine
Smoke and flames rise as a residential building collapses after an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City, September 8, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS
The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday that Portugal will recognize the State of Palestine on Sunday.
Foreign Minister of Portugal Paulo Rangel had earlier said during his visit to the UK that Portugal was considering recognizing the State of Palestine, and now the announcement to recognize Palestine as a state has been made.
It is worth mentioning that in the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session this month, several countries will formally announce the recognition of Palestine as a state, and Portugal will also officially declare its recognition of Palestine as a state.
Until now, Portugal had adopted a cautious approach on this matter compared to some other members of the European Union and had emphasized the need for a unified stance within the EU.
Read: US warns allies’ recognition of Palestine boosts Hamas confidence
Unlike neighbouring Spain, whose leftist government recognised Palestinian statehood in May 2024 alongside Ireland and Norway and called on other EU countries to do the same, Portugal has taken a more cautious approach, saying it wanted to work out a common position with other EU countries first.
Only a handful of the 27 European Union members recognise Palestine as a State, mostly former Communist countries as well as Sweden and Cyprus.
The UN General Assembly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in November 2012 by upgrading its observer status at the world body to "non-member state" from "entity".
Read more: Belgium to recognise Palestinian state at UN General Assembly
Belgium had announced that it will recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on September 2, adding to international pressure on Israel after similar moves by Australia, Britain, Canada and France.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 65,174 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.