Recognition of Palestinian statehood has long been one of the fault lines of global politics. In fact, the main Western powers are often outliers in this regard. Today an overwhelming majority of countries, including a near-solid band stretching from the bottom of South America up through the Caribbean and onto Africa, the Middle East and South and East Asia, recognize the Palestinian state. The United States and Canada stand outside this consensus — joined by other holdouts across the Pacific.

Western Europe is also an exception. In this region only Iceland, the Vatican, and Sweden recognize Palestine, thanks to decisions made in 2011, 2013, and 2014, respectively. They joined the former Eastern Bloc countries that recognized Palestinian statehood after the 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence penned by poet Mahmoud Darwish and proclaimed by Yasser Arafat.

Underscoring this divide, on Thursday, the United States again used its veto to block a draft United Nations resolution on admitting Palestine as a full member. And yet, faced with Israel’s ongoing colonization and massacre in Gaza, it looks like Western monolithism on this question is today fracturing. A growing number of European countries may soon recognize Palestinian statehood.