UNITED NATIONS — Canada and Malta announced Wednesday they will recognize the state of Palestine in September, joining France and the United Kingdom in stepping up pressure to end the nearly 80-year Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made the announcement after a Cabinet meeting. Christopher Cutajar, the permanent secretary at Malta's Foreign Ministry, made his country's announcement earlier at the U.N. General Assembly's meeting on a two-state solution to the conflict which was extended to a third day because of the high number of countries wanting to speak.

Cutajar said Malta has long supported self-determination for the Palestinian people, and "as responsible actors, we have a duty to work to translate the concept of a two-state solution from theory into

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