Palestinian state recognition grows as U.S., Israel boycott UNGA summit

The U.K., Canada and Australia formally recognized a Palestinian state, sparking fury from Israel ahead of a UNGA summit amid the Gaza war.

A Palestinian state is getting a powerful new push.

Dozens of world leaders will gather Monday to rally support for a two-state solution, with the United States and Israel set to boycott the summit as they find themselves increasingly isolated by a rising tide of traditional allies responding to Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip.

The summit, convened by France and Saudi Arabia, comes after the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Portugal all announced their formal recognition of the state of Palestine on Sunday, with several other nations expected to follow suit at the United Nations General Assembly this week.

These Western powers may be hoping to breathe new life into the idea as a way to resolve the conflict, but Israel's hard-line government has instead vowed to retaliate while pressing ahead with its deadly assault on Gaza City that has forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

Displaced Palestinians move with their belongings southward on a road in the Nuseirat refugee camp area in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday.Eyad Baba / AFP via Getty ImagesIsraeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said both Israel and the U.S. would boycott Monday's summit, branding it a "circus." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the moves as a "huge reward to terrorism" and vowed there "will be no Palestinian state."