Palestinians: we are already recognised as a state by two-thirds of the globe
UN delegation claims member countries comprising 75% of the world's population are in favour of its bid for full statehood
Interactive: which countries already recognise Palestinian?
James Ball
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 20 September 2011 09.12 EDT
Almost two-thirds of the UN's member states – representing more than 75% of the world's population – already formally recognise the Palestinian state in some form, according to analysis by the Guardian.
The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, is pressing forward with plans to formally request UN membership this Friday, despite attempts at a diplomatic compromise by many western states and a US pledge to veto the membership bid. Raising Palestine to full statehood would need to pass the UN security council – where it is subject to veto – and then a vote at the general assembly, comprising all 193 UN member states.
However, the general assembly can raise Palestine's status from "permanent observer" to "non-member observer state", a largely symbolic vote, without security council approval.
The Guardian analysis corroborates reports that such a vote would be extremely likely to be passed. Statements on government websites, from the Arab League, Palestinian administrations and elsewhere suggest that in some form, often with caveats, 126 UN member states already grant formal diplomatic recognition of a Palestinian state. The majority of these countries, 105, also formally recognise the state of Israel.
The countries that recognise Palestine comprise around 5.5bn of the world's population of 7bn – more than 75% – but based on World Bank GDP figures make up less than 10% of the world's economy, highlighting the global rift on what remains a highly contentious topic.
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