Australia To Back Palestinian Statehood At UN, PM Albanese Confirms

On Monday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese officially declared that his country will extend recognition to a Palestinian state when the United Nations General Assembly convenes 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,” Albanese announced.

“We will work with the international community to make this right a reality,” he added.

Albanese made it clear that Hamas would not be allowed to play any role in the formation of a Palestinian state. He also harshly criticized Israel, accusing the country of “continuing to defy” international law and describing the situation in Gaza as “beyond the world’s worst dreams.”

Earlier, the Cabinet had convened in Canberra, where it officially approved the recognition, according to SBS News.

The confirmation followed a report from the Sydney Morning Herald, which stated that Albanese was preparing to announce Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state in the near future.

Australia’s recognition may come with conditions, especially regarding the exclusion of Hamas from any Palestinian government and ensuring the security of Israel. According to the report, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has already briefed Israeli officials about the potential policy shift.

While historically viewed as a key step in the peace process, Australia’s stance has shifted over time. Earlier statements from Wong suggested a willingness to recognize Palestine sooner in order to push for leadership reform in Gaza and to urge Israel to refocus on peace negotiations.

This report follows Albanese’s earlier remarks in which he stated that his government had no immediate plans to recognize a Palestinian state. He emphasized that such recognition must be conditioned on a viable two-state solution and voiced concerns over the possibility of Hamas being involved in any future Palestinian state.

“We’ll make a decision based upon the time. Is the time right now? Are we about to imminently do that? No, we are not,” Albanese had said previously.

Australia’s move to recognize a Palestinian state would align with similar announcements made by the UK, Canada, and France.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has long advocated for global recognition of “Palestine” as a way to circumvent direct negotiations with Israel.

While several countries have recently recognized “Palestine,” these actions have largely been symbolic, carrying little to no diplomatic impact.

{Matzav.com}