The move by three European countries fits into a long-term goal of Palestinian leaders to secure diplomatic acceptance, but the immediate impact may be limited.

Even as major Western powers refrain, three European countries' recognition announcements add impetus for formally designating Palestinian territories a state.

There are no binding rules about when one country should recognise another, but international law provides some guidelines. The Montevideo Convention on the rights and duties of states, signed by 20 countries in North and South America in 1933,

Norway will recognise a Palestinian state, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Wednesday, confirming earlier reports. (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis and Gwladys Fouche in Oslo, editing by Stine