France, Britain, Canada, Australia, and Malta all say they are preparing to recognize a state of Palestine at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. They would join another 147 UN countries that already do so.

Several countries including Australia, the United Kingdom and France have moved to recognize a Palestinian state.

Germany's foreign minister has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas after a meeting in Indonesia.

Shahed Ghoreishi recommended expressing condolences for slain journalists in Gaza and opposing the forced displacement of Palestinians. He was fired days later.

Nearly 6 in 10 Americans said the United Nations countries should recognize the Palestinian state, according to a survey that was published Wednesday morning. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 58 percent of U.

The poll was conducted after the leaders of France, Canada and the U.K. announced their intention to recognize Palestinian statehood.

French President Emmanuel Macron shared a letter addressed to the leader of the Palestinian Authority on Thursday, citing a need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Days after several sick and injured children arrived in the U.S. from Gaza for medical treatment, the State Department halted a program that grants visitor visas to people from Gaza.

International recognition will do as much to rebuke Hamas’s maximalist demands as it will those of the Israeli right, dealing a blow to expansionist aspirations in the West Bank, the only territory that has any realistic chance of becoming a Palestinian state.