Australia will formally recognize a Palestinian state at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra alongside Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, Albanese said that Australia will recognize the “right” of the Palestinian people to a “state of their own.”
“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,” he said.
Albanese said that his cabinet met on Monday morning and endorsed the move to recognize Palestinian statehood as part of a “coordinated global effort” building momentum for a two-state solution.
He said that the decision followed conversations with leaders in Britain, France, New Zealand and Japan, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Palestinian Authority has promised Australia that it would recognize Israel’s right to exist, hold general elections and demilitarize, Albanese said.
The prime minister reiterated criticism of Israel’s withholding of aid in Gaza and of increased settler violence in the West Bank, describing the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “beyond the world’s worst fears.”
“There have been threats to annex the occupied Palestinian territories and proposing the permanent forced displacement of the Palestinian people. These actions, together with the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, risk putting a two-state solution out of reach for a generation,” he said.
Monday’s announcement came after Albanese and senior members of his Labor Party government escalated criticism of Israel and called for a ceasefire in recent weeks.
Australia to recognize Palestinian state in September: PM
