France is the first G7 country. Which and how many other countries in the world recognize Palestine?

France will be the first G7 country to recognize the State of Palestine , bringing the number of UN members who have taken this position to 148 by September. Italy and the United States are not among them. What are they and what is the situation on the various continents?

Sweden was the first EU country to take this step , in 2014, at the height of months of clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in East Jerusalem. The State of Palestine had already been recognized in 1998, following the declaration of independence proclaimed by then-PLO leader Yasser Arafat, by Cyprus (which joined the EU in 2004) and by a number of Soviet bloc countries, now in the Union: Bulgaria , Hungary , Poland , Romania , and the then Czechoslovakia , later divided into Slovakia and the Czech Republic. With the end of the USSR, Prague and Budapest took a step back , but both capitals still host a Palestinian embassy. France's support for Palestinian statehood, the first G7 country to do so, will come with the formal act expected in September.

A decision that sparked controversy similar to that of last year , when recognition came from Ireland , Spain , Slovenia , and Norway (which is not part of the EU). Malta recognizes the Palestinians' right to statehood but not formally the State of Palestine, even though it said it was ready to take this step last May.

As for Italy, it believes that this solution should be achieved through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians with a two-state perspective. This position is shared by the United States.

Almost all of Asia , Africa , and Latin America formally recognize the Palestinian state. Algeria was the first country to do so, in 1988, just minutes after Arafat's declaration, quickly followed by many others: much of the Arab world, India , Turkey , much of Africa, as well as China and Russia , which was then the Soviet Union. In 2011, Moscow, with the then Kremlin president, Dmitry Medvedev, confirmed its recognition. In 2010-2011, a number of South American countries joined, including Argentina , Brazil , and Chile .

In November 2012, the Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at the United Nations in New York , after the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to upgrade the political-territorial entity to a non-member observer state . Last year, the Assembly adopted a resolution declaring Palestine "qualified to become a member state" with 143 votes in favor, 25 abstentions (including Italy), and nine against, including the United States. Washington, like Rome, maintains diplomatic relations with the Palestinian National Authority, along with Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and finally Canada and Australia, which have raised the possibility of recognizing Palestine.