Australia will recognize the Palestinian state during the United Nations General Assembly session in September, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on August 11.
“The two-state solution is humanity’s greatest hope to end the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering, and hunger in Gaza,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“Until Israeli and Palestinian statehood become permanent, peace can only be temporary. Australia will recognize the Palestinian people’s right to their own state. We will work with the international community to make that right a reality,” he added.
Australia’s decision follows similar announcements by several other countries, including France, the United Kingdom, and Canada, which have expressed intentions to recognize a Palestinian state. This momentum comes after Israel launched a war in Gaza nearly two years ago in response to attacks carried out by Hamas—a Palestinian group designated as a terrorist organization by both the United States and the European Union—on October 7 against Israel.
“There is an opportunity, and Australia will work with the international community to seize it,” Albanese emphasized.
He said Australia’s decision is based on assurances received from the Palestinian Authority that “there will be no role for Hamas terrorists in any future Palestinian state.”
However, the Palestinian Authority has no presence in Gaza, which has been governed by Hamas for nearly two decades.
Hours before Albanese’s announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized international calls for recognition of Palestinian statehood, arguing that such a move “will not bring peace, it will bring war.”
International concern is growing over the situation of more than 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where the fighting has caused a severe humanitarian crisis and warnings of mass starvation.
Albanese criticized the Israeli government for continuing to challenge “international law and deny adequate aid.”
As the global movement for Palestinian state recognition grows, New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said his country is carefully considering the possibility of recognizing a Palestinian state in the coming month. According to him, recognizing the Palestinian state is “a matter of when, not if.”
While countries issue warnings about recognizing the Palestinian state, the war in Gaza continues. Following Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, approximately 1,200 people were killed in Israel and 251 were abducted. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes have killed over 61,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
