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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced Australia will recognise a state of Palestine when the United Nations’ General Assembly meets in September.
“Australia will recognise the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own, predicated on the commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority,” he said during a press conference in Canberra on Monday.
“We will work with the international community to make this right a reality.”
Cabinet met in Canberra earlier on Monday, where it signed off on statehood.
“A two-state solution is humanity’s best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza,” Albanese said.
“The global vision for establishing a fair and enduring peace in the Middle East has consistently included the coexistence of two nations with internationally acknowledged borders: an Israeli state and a Palestinian state, ensuring security for the citizens of each country.”
Source: SBS News
Albanese said until both Israeli and Palestinian statehood was made permanent, peace would only ever be temporary.
He reiterated the Australian government’s position that there would be no role for Hamas in any future Palestinian state.
“The Palestinian Authority has reaffirmed it recognises Israel’s right to exist in peace and security,” he said.
“It has committed to demilitarise and to hold general elections.”
Israeli PM says international criticism won’t change position
“They know what they would do if they were right next to Melbourne or right next to Sydney,” Netanyahu said.
“You had these horrific attacks. I think that you would do it — at least what we’re doing. Probably, maybe not as efficiently and as precisely as we’re doing it,” Netanyahu said.
“To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole, just like that, fall right into it and buy this canard is disappointing, and I think it’s actually shameful.
“It’s not going to change our position. Again, we will not commit national suicide to get a good op-ed for two minutes.”
The survey from DemosAU found 45 per cent of respondents supported Australia recognising a Palestinian state before a negotiated peace agreement, with 23 per cent opposed. Levels of support were highest among those aged 18 to 34 at 57 per cent, while people aged 55 and over were more likely to be opposed, at 28 per cent.
More than 140 of the 193 UN member states already recognise the Palestinian state, including European Union member states Spain and Ireland.
United States President Donald Trump has remained steadfastly opposed to recognition and maintains international moves to do so are rewarding Hamas.
This is a developing story and this article will be updated.
