International recognition of Israel

History

On 14 May 1948 the State of Israel was established by the Israeli Declaration of Independence. The Arab League and Arab countries were opposed to any partition of Palestine, and to the establishment of Israel, and took military action against the newly formed state in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

On the declaration of independence, a Provisional government of Israel was established; and while military operations were still in progress, the Provisional government was promptly recognised by the United States as the de facto authority of Israel, followed by Iran (which had voted against the UN partition plan), Guatemala, Iceland, Nicaragua, Romania, and Uruguay. The Soviet Union was the first country to recognise Israel de jure on 17 May 1948, followed by Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Ireland, and South Africa. The United States extended de jure recognition after the first Israeli election, on 31 January 1949.

On 15 May 1948, one day after the declaration of its establishment, Israel applied for membership of the United Nations, but the application was not acted on by the Security Council. Israel's second application was rejected by the Security Council on 17 December 1948 by a 5 to 1 vote, with 5 abstentions. Syria was the sole negative vote; the U.S., Argentina, Colombia, the Soviet Union and Ukraine voted in favor; and Belgium, Britain, Canada, China and France abstained.

Israel's application was renewed in 1949 after the Israeli elections. The Security Council by UN Security Council Resolution 69 on 4 March 1949 voted 9 to 1 in favour of membership, with Egypt voting no and Great Britain abstaining. Those voting in favour were: China (ROC), France, United States, Soviet Union, Argentina, Canada, Cuba, Norway, and Ukrainian SSR.

On 11 May 1949, the General Assembly by the requisite two-thirds majority approved the application to admit Israel to the UN by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 273. The vote in the General Assembly was 37 to 12, with 9 abstentions. Those that voted for were: Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Byelorussia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Ukraine, South Africa, Soviet Union, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia. Those that voted against were six of the then seven members of the Arab League (Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen) as well as Afghanistan, Burma, Ethiopia, India, Iran and Pakistan. Those abstaining were: Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, El Salvador, Greece, Siam, Sweden, Turkey and United Kingdom. Many of the countries that voted in favour or had abstained had already recognised Israel before the UN vote, at least on a de facto basis.

By the late 1960s, Israel had established diplomatic relations with almost all countries of Western Europe, North and South America, as well as much of Africa. Some states recognise Israel as a state, but have no diplomatic relations.

In the wake of the Six-Day War, to put additional diplomatic and military pressure on Israel, Arab oil-producing countries threatened to impose an oil embargo on countries with international relations with Israel. As a result, many African and Asian countries broke ties with Israel. The Soviet Union gave its support behind the Arab cause against Israel, and most countries of the Soviet bloc severed diplomatic relations in 1967. These included the Soviet Union itself, as well as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria. Diplomatic relations with these countries were restored following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and countries that gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union also recognised Israel in their own right. On 1 September 1967, the eight members of the Arab League issued the Khartoum Resolution, which included a pledge not to recognise Israel. Similar pressure was exerted after the Arab-Israeli War of 1973. Several countries once had diplomatic relations with Israel, but have since broken or suspended them (Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela in Latin America; Mauritania in the Arab League; Chad, Mali and Niger in non-Arab Africa; and Iran until the Islamic revolution).

Following Israel's recognition of and entering into negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) many African, Asian and even Arab countries restored diplomatic relations with Israel. The Vatican entered into diplomatic relations with Israel in 1994. Some countries broke or suspended relations as a result of the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese War and the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Although Guinea broke diplomatic relations with Israel in 1967, Israel's support to Guinea during its fight against the Ebola virus led to the re-establishment of diplomatic relations in 2016.

Present situation

At present, a total of 31 United Nations member states do not recognise the State of Israel: 18 of the 21 UN members in the Arab League: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen; a further 10 members of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Chad, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mali, Niger, and Pakistan. Other countries which do not recognise Israel include Bhutan, Cuba, and North Korea. In 2002, the Arab League proposed recognition of Israel by Arab countries as part of the resolution of the Palestine-Israel conflict in the Arab Peace Initiative.

16 of these countries do not accept Israeli passports and eight of these also do not accept passports of other countries whose holder has an Israeli visa endorsed in it.

List by country

Legend: