Albanese to double down on Palestinian statehood in UN speech: reports

When asked by The Australian if a trigger such as a Hamas affiliate winning free elections or the Palestinian Authority failing to meet promises of reform would prompt any reconsideration of the declaration, Albanese said the UN “didn’t create one state, they created two”.

“If you support two states, it’s not Israel and something else and Marrickville, it’s Israel and Palestine,” he said.

“That is what we’re doing here. Recognising, formalising something that was always envisaged by the United Nations. The United Nations didn’t create one state, they created two. The world is saying, enough is enough. What you are seeing here is like-minded countries, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, France … all making this declaration.”

Albanese will say that Israel is already headed towards annexation with the expansion of illegal settlements, the displacement of the Palestinians and increased settler violence, the AFR reports.

“Such conduct risks putting a two-state solution beyond reach. That is where the current road will take us,” adding that the call for recognition means ultimately “a place they can call home”, as was once longed for by the Jewish people. “This is the same hope that sustained generations of Jewish people. The same hope that binds each of us to our countries and cultures, that drives all of us to want a better life for our children,” Albanese will say.

Australia’s recognition of Palestine came into effect late on Sunday evening, alongside Britain and Canada, prompting a strong backlash from US Republicans, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Opposition.

Several Israeli ministers demanded that Netanyahu’s government annex the occupied West Bank following the wave of declarations, with Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, saying he would call for the “immediate” annexation of the West Bank in response to the move. “The recognition by Britain, Canada, and Australia of a ‘Palestinian’ state, as a reward for the Nukhba murderers, demands immediate countermeasures,” he wrote via X.

Later on Monday, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley responded to reassure a slew of US President Donald Trump’s Republican representatives that Australia’s decision to recognise Palestine did not have bipartisan support, and that the opposition would reverse the move should it form government.

Excerpts of Ley’s letter published by the SMH read: “This decision taken at this time by the Labor government does not enjoy bipartisan support here in Australia…The federal opposition opposes this decision and would reverse it should we form government.”

Via a post on X, Ley also said that she had spoken with Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, about Labor’s recognition of Palestine over a phone call on Monday. Ley said she expressed her disappointment at the “break with bipartisanship and reiterated the Coalition’s long-held position that recognition must only come at the end of a genuine two-state process.”

Albanese is expected to meet with Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week, although no official meeting has been scheduled as yet.