Palestine’s Path to Full UN Membership: An Examination of the Ongoing Recognition Process

The Palestinian Authority has resumed the process of becoming a full member state of the United Nations, with 137 out of 193 UN states having recognized a Palestinian state. However, there are some exceptions in Western Europe, North America, Australia, Japan, and South Korea. In 1988, Yasser Arafat declared the establishment of a Palestinian state following the start of the first Intifada. Algeria was the first country to officially recognize an independent Palestinian state, which was followed by forty other countries including China, India, Turkey, and most Arab nations. Africa, the Soviet bloc, Central America