THE FULL STORY

Across the globe, most countries – about 139 in all – formally recognise a Palestinian state. We have divided countries by continent to find out where there is support for or against Palestine, indicated by actions such as recognition of Palestinian statehood or trade relations.

At the time of publication of this piece, over 40,000 Palestinians have been murdered in Gaza and surrounding areas where Israel has dropped 505 bombs per day, 21 bombings per hour, in the first 89 days of the genocide. The countries refusing to speak out against this violence must be highlighted to the world.

Knowing the stance of various governments towards Palestine helps citizens make informed choices for example when it comes to deciding future travel destinations.

Europe

North America

Countries /Territories who have supported Palestine	Countries/Territories who have not supported Palestine
Antigua and Barbuda – Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the OAS, Sir Ronald Sanders, under instructions from Prime Minister Gaston Browne, is working to establish diplomatic ties with Palestine	USA – Breaks its own Leahy Law, which prohibits assistance to foreign military units that commit abuses, to support Israel. Annually they give $3.8 billion to Israel and this year plan to give an extra $14 billion
Barbados – In April, Barbados recognised Palestine as a state	Canada – According to a Parliamentary vote in March, Canada will halt future arms sales to Israel following a non-binding vote in the house of commons. However, the government has failed to “recognize the state of Palestine”. Canadian companies have exported over $84m, [$114m Canadian] in military goods to Israel since 2015 when the Trudeau government was elected
Belize – Belize has suspended ties with Israel due to its “indiscriminate bombing” of the Gaza Strip
Cayman Islands – calls for cease offensive in Palestine and stop the seizure of Palestinian land
Cuba – Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel along with all members of the Cabinet has publicly attended demonstrations in support of Palestine
Jamaica – In April, Jamaica officially recognised the state of Palestine
Mexico – expressed ‘growing worry’ over ‘escalation of violence’ in a referral to the International Criminal Court over possible crimes. It has recently recognised Palestine as a state
Nicaragua – Nicaragua has not just spoken out against Israel’s attack on Palestine, it has also opposed Germany’s support of Israel

Asia

Countries who have supported Palestine	Countries that have not supported Palestine
Bangladesh – backed South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at ICJ	Azerbaijan – While Baku’s foreign policy could be perceived as more supportive of Palestine compared to its smaller neighbours, Armenia and Georgia – given its hosting of a Palestinian embassy, the operation of its own representative office in Ramallah, and consistent support for Palestine in the UN – it has concurrently pursued a discreet but active partnership with Tel Aviv
China – Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an end to the ‘collective punishment’ of Palestinians	Bahrain is reported to maintain “economic relations” with Israel. Bahrain said on Thursday that the Gulf state’s ambassador to Israel had returned home and the Israeli ambassador in Manama had left the kingdom
Indonesia – refuses to recognise Israel until a peace agreement is made between Palestine and Israel	India is pro-Israel. India’s exports to Israel grew to  $7.5 billion in 2023. Traditionally it had sided with Palestine. This tradition has continued by groups like the Indian Port Workers Union which has said it will refuse to load weapon’s for Israel’s War
Iran – Iran says it will make no changes in its foreign policy regarding its unwavering support for Palestine	Jordan – Jordanians are demanding that the government ends normalisation with Israel, reconsidering ties with the United States, and cancelling other energy, gas, or trade deals with Israel
Iraq – Reaffirms full solidarity with Palestine	Japan – has stated it refuses to take sides in the matter and has not recognised Palestine as a state
Kuwait – Kuwait says it will not establish ties with Israel unless a sovereign Palestinian Statehood is established	Kazakhstan – Countries with more friendly relations with Israel supply the majority of crude oil delivered since the war began, including Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan
Kyrzgystan – supports Palestine	Phillipines – In October, Phillipines was the only Southeast Asian country that abstained in a UN vote calling for an aid truce in Gaza. They have sided with Israel
Lebanon – Technically at war, Lebanon and Israel have no diplomatic relations. Support for the Palestinian cause has traditionally come from the Lebanese left, who fought alongside Palestinian groups during Lebanon’s civil war. Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with the Israeli military across Lebanon’s southern border in parallel with the Gaza assault that began on October 7. The Iran-aligned armed group has said it is launching rockets at Israel both to support its ally, the Palestinian group Hamas which governs Gaza, and to deter Israel from launching an attack on Lebanon	Saudia Arabia – called on all countries to cease arms exports to Israel; however, US-brokered normalisation agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia have been said to continue. Arrests for critising Israel on social media are motivated by concerns over potential threats to the country’s security from pro-Iranian influences
Malaysia – Prime Minister Anwar has a long history of supporting the Palestinian cause. At the same time, analysts see a domestic political angle to the prime minister’s vehement response	Russia – states it is supportive of Palestine; however, Russia continues to supply a steady stream of vacuum gas oil (VGO) for one of the key refineries in Haifa. VGO is generally upgraded into gasoline and diesel
Maldives – The Maldives has announced it will ban Israeli citizens from entering the country. Palestine thanks Maldives for it’s unwavering support	Thailand – The Hamas attack had “significantly heightened awareness” in Thailand about the situation of Thai expatriates in Israel and turned public opinion against Palestinians
Oman – Oman pushes for Palestinian self-determination in face of Israel ‘atrocities’	UAE – became the most prominent Arab state in 30 years to establish formal ties with Israel under a U.S.-brokered agreement in 2020, dubbed the Abraham Accords. It has maintained the relationship throughout Israel’s more than six-month war in Gaza. Trade between the countries is still happening but at a slower speed. Israel receives relatively small but regular shipments of crude via the Sumed pipeline. The pipeline receives crude oil from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates
Pakistan – The government has not released an official message
Qatar – Qatar has called for an international probe into ‘Israeli crimes’ in Gaza
Singapore – Singapore is among 143 countries that voted to support Palestine’s UN membership bid in May; however it has not recognised Palestine as a state
South Korea – has not recognised Palestine officially
Taiwan – Taiwanese, though under the weight of a far more powerful neighbor, have the tendency to idealize Israel and fail to create a self-definition beyond the island nation’s anti-China image
Turkey – In May, Turkey stopped trade with Israel, valuing $6.8bn in 2023; however, they continue to load Azerbaijani oil to Israel via tankers
Uzbekistan – announced $1.5 million in relief to Palestine aid agency
Yemen – has pledged support with Palestine and various political groups have united over this cause

South America

Bolivia – severs ties with Israel over Gaza	Argentina, – President Javier Milei’s government votes against recognition of Palestinian state at United Nations, breaking with its normal diplomatic position. It has the largest Jewish population in South America
Brazil – has withdrawn it’s ambassador from Israel and recognised Palestine as a state. However, two shipments of Brazilian crude oil totaling 260,000 tons have been delivered to Israel since December 2023. This crude was supplied from offshore fields co-owned by Shell and TotalEnergies together with Brazil’s Petrobras	Ecuador – The far-right government in Quito is helping Washington avoid having to issue another veto at the UNSC against Palestinian interests and in favor of Israel
Colombia has compared the fate of Gazans to those living in Hiroshima during the nuclear bomb dropped by the US in 1945.
Chile – Chile is home to the largest Palestinian population outside of the Middle East, with approximately 500,000 citizens of Palestinian descent. Chilean President Gabriel Boric has repeatedly expressed support for Palestinian human rights since his inauguration in 2022, even withdrawing the country’s ambassador to Israel in condemnation of the current military offensive in Gaza.
Guyana – accuses Israel of military conquest, annexation of Palestinian territory and referred to the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory in hearing at International Court of Justice and pledged $150,000 to UN in support

Africa

Countries supporting Palestine	Countries supporting Israel
Algeria – Algeria pushed for full membership of Palestine at the UN	Egypt – The Egyptian president has spoken out against the widespread destruction of Gaza and the killing of thousands of Palestinians amid widespread support for Palestinians in the country. Since el-Sisi took power in a 2013 coup, Egypt, as part of its security coordination with Israel, has destroyed hundreds of tunnels that Palestinians used to smuggle goods – and at times, weapons – past the Israeli blockade on Gaza. Cairo has also destroyed thousands of buildings to create a buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza. Egypt has cooperated with Israel in the 17-year blockade of Gaza. Analysts have said Cairo is unlikely to walk away from the Camp David Accords. Egypt receives billions of dollars of US aid as part of the deal and has close military ties with Washington
Angola – Following the vote in favor of UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2334 (2016) condemning illegal Israeli settlements of Palestinian territories and East Jerusalem, Israel cut diplomatic ties with 10 of the 15 member states that compose the UNSC. The Angolan head of state, João Lourenço, defended the creation of the independent and sovereign state of Palestine	Chad – Israel has previously been in talks with Chad to take Palestinian refugees, highlighting a growing relationship between Israel and various African countries
Comoros – Comoros is one of the African countries that raised a referral to the ICC regarding the Situation in the State of Palestine. ICC Prosecutor Karim AA Khan KC affirmed an investigation is currently ongoing with its own dedicated team	Democratic Republic of Congo – Israeli officials are reported to be holding secret talks with the  Democratic Republic of Congo and other nations regarding the expulsion of Palestinians displaced by Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip
Ivory Coast – The Ivorian Minister for Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Diaspora, Kandia Camara, reiterated the firm position of Côte d’Ivoire in support of the Palestinian question and the Palestinian people	Morocco – Morocco’s recognition of Israel came at the end of 2020 when it signed the Abraham Accords, a United States strategy from 2020 that saw the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Sudan normalise relations with Israel in return for various concessions
Djibouti – Djibouti is one of the African countries that raised a referral to the ICC regarding the Situation in the State of Palestine. ICC Prosecutor Karim AA Khan KC affirmed an investigation is currently ongoing with its own dedicated team.	Ghana – Ghana has aligned with Israel.
Mauritius – has backed Palestine at the IJC.	Kenya – Ghana has aligned with Israel.
Namibia – an international boycott of Israeli goods and companies in response to Israeli policies and practices in the Palestinian territories. If implemented, such a boycott could harm Namibia’s economy, as Israel is a key trading partner with the nation’s diamond mining industry.	Malawi – There has been apprehension in Malawi as the government sent workers to Israel amid Gaza war and abstained in the vote in UN to recognise Palestinian statehood
Nigeria – Nigeria is the 2nd largest partner in trade in the Africa. They have not issued a statement.
Somalia – Somalia has spoken in support of Palestine
South Africa – South Africa launched a case against Israel at the IJC on behalf of Palestinians resulting in a verdict of plausible genocide. South Africa is considering cutting trade ties with Israel, the biggest partner for trade in Africa
Sudan – Sudan’s ruling sovereign called for an immediate halt to Israeli “aggression against Gaza” however they normalised relations with Israel in 2020.
Zimbabwe has described Israel’s cutting off water from Gaza as a war crime

Australia

Countries supporting Palestine	Countries that have not supported Palestine
	Australia – Australian public servants demand it ceases supplying all military parts and weapons to Israel cease providing reconnaissance support from the Pine Gap facility cancel all contracts and cooperation with Israeli weapons suppliers disclose all information relating to the sale of military export licences to Australian companies supplying weapons and weapons components to Israel directly and/or indirectly
	New Zealand – citizens demand NZ withdraws troops from the Red Sea, stop NZ-based company Rakon from supplying components for weapons used by Israel, and resume and then double humanitarian funding for UNRWA