- Albanese made the announcement after cabinet meeting.
- Criticises Netanyahu for opposing Palestinian statehood efforts.
- “Two-state solution is ‘humanity’s best hope to end conflict”.
Australia will recognise a Palestinian state at next month’s United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday, a move that adds to international pressure on Israel after similar announcements from France, Britain and Canada.
“Australia will recognise the State of Palestine at the 80th Sessions of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September, to contribute to international momentum towards a two-state solution, a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages,” Albanese said in a statement.
Albanese made the announcement after a cabinet meeting, and told reporters in Canberra that recognition would be predicated on commitments Australia received from the Palestinian Authority, including that Hamas would have no involvement in any future state.
“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 at a news conference.
Albanese said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday and told him a political solution was needed and not a military one.
Australia last week criticised Israel’s plan to take military control of Gaza, and Albanese said the decision to recognise a Palestinian state was “further compelled” by Netanyahu’s disregard of the international community’s calls and failure to comply with legal and ethical obligations in Gaza.
“The Netanyahu Government is extinguishing the prospect of a two-state solution by rapidly expanding illegal settlements, threatening annexation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and explicitly opposing any Palestinian state,” Albanese said in the joint statement with Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
Commitments by the Palestinian Authority to reform governance, demilitarise and hold general elections, as well as Arab League demands for Hamas to end its rule in Gaza, created an opportunity, he said.
Meanwhile, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Monday that New Zealand is considering recognition of a Palestinian state.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s cabinet would make a formal decision in September and present the government’s approach at the UN Leaders’ Week, he said.
Peters said that while some of New Zealand’s close partners had opted to recognise a Palestinian state, New Zealand had an independent foreign policy.
“We intend to weigh up the issue carefully and then act according to New Zealand’s principles, values and national interest,” Peters said in a statement.
The government needed to weigh up whether sufficient progress was being made towards the Palestinian territories becoming a viable and legitimate state for New Zealand to grant recognition.
“New Zealand has been clear for some time that our recognition of a Palestinian state is a matter of when, not if,” Peters added.
