Portugal will recognize the Palestinian state on Sunday, ahead of the start of the UN General Assembly session in New York next week, the Lisbon Foreign Ministry announced in a statement, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
Other countries, including France, Belgium and Canada, also plan to recognize Palestine at the UN next week. Although almost 150 of the 193 UN member states have already recognized the Palestinian state, the support of major world powers is particularly important from a Palestinian perspective.
Many EU countries, especially in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, have recognized Palestine for a long time. Hungary, which has close ties with Israel, did so in 1988.
In the context of the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian group "Hamas", EU countries Spain, Ireland and Slovenia recognized the Palestinian state last year.
In late August, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Germany would not join other countries in recognizing Palestine as a state at the UN General Assembly.