"If New Zealand doesn't recognise a Palestinian state then it will have to justify why, given the vast majority of its allies have." Of the 193 UN member states, 147 recognise a Palestinian state. While recognition was a largely symbolic measure, Iqtait said it was one every country, including New Zealand, could play a role in. "So a position that New Zealand could take is that it has not met the criteria for statehood and therefore it would not be appropriate to recognise Palestine at this point." The latest RNZ-Reid Research poll found 42.5 percent of voters think New Zealand should recognise Palestine, with a sizeable 35.4 percent saying they did not know and 22.1 percent against recognition.