Lisbon — Portugal has formally launched internal consultations to recognize the State of Palestine, aligning itself with a growing bloc of Western nations seeking to rebalance decades of lopsided Middle East policy.
The move, led by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s center-right government, marks a pivotal recalibration in the country’s Middle East stance. For the first time, Lisbon is engaging in high-level discussions with both President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and major parliamentary parties, including its traditionally cautious center-left opposition, on the formal recognition of Palestinian statehood.
The announcement, quietly embedded in a press briefing rather than a bombastic declaration, was no accident. The government, aware of Portugal’s strategic position in the European Union and the potential diplomatic reverberations, is choreographing its steps with deliberate restraint. Sources familiar with the matter suggest the decision may be unveiled during the upcoming 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September.
This would place Portugal alongside a snowballing Western coalition: France has already pledged recognition, Canada is reportedly preparing for a similar move by September, and the United Kingdom is facing mounting pressure to follow suit. If Lisbon joins, the symbolic weight of yet another NATO and EU member backing Palestinian sovereignty could shift Brussels closer to a bloc-wide consensus.
Though careful not to ruffle feathers in Washington or Tel Aviv, Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel made clear that Portugal’s position is grounded in international law and human dignity. He emphasized that any recognition would affirm the authority of the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas or any other group, positioning Portugal as a “responsible” Western actor that balances morality with strategic coherence.
While some analysts argue the gesture is largely symbolic, the political implications within Europe are anything but. Spain, Ireland, and Norway recognized Palestine in May 2024, sparking fierce backlash from Israeli officials. Israel’s foreign ministry accused those nations of “rewarding terrorism” and recalled its ambassadors in protest. Portugal, by contrast, appears to be angling for EU consensus—seeking to create a larger, unified front that Tel Aviv would find harder to dismiss or retaliate against without isolating itself diplomatically.
Lisbon’s Middle East policy has long been quietly pro-Palestinian, but this marks the most decisive moment since it established a representative office in Ramallah in 1999. In 2010, Portugal upgraded the Palestinian mission in Lisbon to full embassy status. In 2014, the parliament passed a non-binding resolution urging recognition—only to have successive governments bury it in diplomatic ambiguity.
Now, with the Genocide in Gaza sparking unprecedented levels of international condemnation against Israel, and the political winds in Europe veering sharply away from uncritical support for Tel Aviv, Portugal’s long-awaited pivot appears inevitable.
With over 146 UN member states already recognizing Palestine, the momentum is undeniably shifting. The question is no longer whether the West will formally support Palestinian statehood—but how quickly and under what terms.
According to Reuters, the Portuguese government’s decision is expected ahead of the UN General Assembly in September 2025, following weeks of internal consultations. “We are evaluating the best moment and way to proceed,” Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel stated, underlining the government’s intent to synchronize with broader EU efforts. Portugal’s decision could serve as a catalyst for remaining hesitant European nations to act, further isolating Israel and the United States on the global stage.
