International recognition of Israel
The international recognition of Israel refers to the diplomatic recognition of the State of Israel, which was established by the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948. Israel's sovereignty is disputed by some countries. As of December 2019, 162 of the 193 UN member states recognize 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, Guatemala, Iceland, Nicaragua, Romania, and Uruguay. The Soviet Union was the first country to recognise Israel de jure on 17 May 1948, followed by Nicaragua, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Poland. The United States extended de jure recognition after the first Israeli election, on 31 January 1949.
By the late 1960s, Israel had established diplomatic relations with almost all countries of Western Europe and North and South America, as well as much of Africa.
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 that once had diplomatic relations with Israel have since broken or suspended them: Cuba and Venezuela in Latin America; Mauritania, Mali and Niger in Africa; and Iran after the Islamic revolution.
Following Israel's recognition of and entering into negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization many African, Asian and even Arab countries restored diplomatic relations with Israel, or recognised 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. Nicaragua restored relations in March 2017.
UN membership
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. By UN Security Council Resolution 69, the Security Council voted, on 4 March 1949, 9 to 1 in favour of membership, with Egypt voting no and Great Britain abstaining. Those voting in favour were China, 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 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. Of these countries, Cuba and Venezuela have since withdrawn recognition.
Present situation
As of December 2019, 162 of the 193 UN member states recognize Israel, 31 UN member states do not recognize Israel. These include 17 of the 22 members of 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 nine are members of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mali, Niger, and Pakistan. Relations with Chad were restored on 20 January 2019. Other countries that do not recognise Israel include Bhutan, Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela. In 2002, the Arab League proposed recognition of Israel by Arab countries as part of the resolution of the Palestine-Israel conflict as part of the Arab Peace Initiative.The passports of some countries are not valid for travel to Israel, including Bangladesh, Brunei, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan. Sixteen countries do not accept Israeli passports. These are Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Eight of these also do not accept passports of other countries whose holder has an Israeli visa endorsed in it. The stamp may be a visa stamp, or a stamp on entry or departure. Because of these issues, Israeli immigration controls do not stamp passports with an entry visa, instead stamping on a separate insert which is discarded on departure. However, a stamp of another country which indicates that the person has entered Israel may frustrate that effort. For example, if an Egyptian departure stamp is used in any passport at the Taba Crossing, that is an indication that the person entered Israel, and a similar situation arises for land crossings into Jordan. Twenty-two countries ban direct flights and overflights to and from Israel. These are Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, Yemen.
The Israeli flag and national anthem were banned from the International Judo Federation Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with Israeli contestants having to display the IJF's flag and anthem instead. The ban on Israeli symbols was lifted in 2018 and the Israeli flag and national anthem were allowed to be displayed. Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports Miri Regev was also allowed to attend the October 2018 event in Abu Dhabi. In December 2017, seven Israelis were denied visas by Saudi Arabia to compete in an international chess tournament.