Albanese announces Australia will recognise Palestinian state
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that Australia will recognise a Palestinian state at next month’s United Nations General Assembly.
Appearing at a press conference in the Prime Minister’s Courtyard in Parliament House following a meeting of cabinet, Albanese said Australia would work with the international community to recognise Palestine and continue building momentum towards a two-state solution.
He said Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state would be “predicated on the commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority”, which include demilitarisation and a recognition of Israel’s right to exist.
The announcement comes after Albanese has discussed the move with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba over the past fortnight.
Albanese said: “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".
“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.”
Australia to announce plan to recognise Palestinian state
The news: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will announce his plan to recognise a Palestinian state in the coming days.
The details: The imminent announcement, first revealed by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, could be made as soon as today and is subject to change.
Federal cabinet is meeting on Monday morning, when it could sign off on the deicision
Foreign Minister Penny Wong spoke to her Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar on Sunday to brief him about the decision, sources told the SMH and Age.
Labor sources stressed that the announcement would likely set out Australia's conditions for recognition of Palestine, including that Hamas should not be involved in governing Gaza and Israel’s security should be guaranteed.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke opened the door to Australia recognising Palestine even if Hamas remained in control of Gaza, telling Sky News that Canberra had previously recognised governments in Iraq and Syria when their territories had been occupied and governed by terrorists.
It will follow France announcing its plan to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September, and Britain, Canada also announcing similar moves with conditions.
In a press conference on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed "European countries and Australia" for marching "into that rabbit hole", describing it as "disappointing, and I think it’s actually shameful".
What they said: “Both Syria and Iraq had a long period where parts of those countries were being occupied and realistically controlled by ISIS,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told Sky News on Sunday.
“It didn’t stop us from recognising and having diplomatic relations with those countries themselves.”
The sources: The Sydney Morning Herald, Capital Brief sources
