Portugal to recognise a Palestinian state, government says

It is set to join a handful of the 27 European Union members -- mostly former Communist countries -- in recognising Palestine as a state

A boy holds a Palestinian flag during a demonstration against what Palestinians say is Israel's confiscation of their land, as Isareli security forces stand guard, in Raba, near Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank July 18, 2025. REUTERS

Portugal will recognise a Palestinian state on Sunday, the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday.

The Official Declaration of Recognition will take place even before next week's High-Level Conference, it added.

Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel already said this week that the country was considering the recognisition of a Palestinian state during a visit to the UK.

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".

Israel is facing a growing global outcry, given that its war against Hamas in Gaza is causing many deaths, starvation and devastation.