AhlulBayt News Agency: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that the government will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly next month, aligning with similar actions taken by the United Kingdom, France, and Canada.
At a press conference following a cabinet meeting in Canberra on Monday, Albanese said Australia would work with the international community to make recognition a reality.
“Australia will recognize the state of Palestine. Australia will recognize the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own,” he said.
For his part, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said it had been more than 77 years since the world promised a Palestinian state.
“In the nearly two years since October 7, we have been working with the international community on breaking the cycle of violence,” she said.
“We can't keep waiting for the end of a peace process that has ground to a halt,” Wong pointed out.
Last week, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told Albanese that Australia could play an “important” role as a diplomatic middle power by recognizing Palestine.
Australia's decision aligns with recognition pledges from nations such as France, Canada, and the United Kingdom in recent weeks.
The growing international support for a Palestinian state coincides with widespread condemnation of the Israeli military's 22-month-long onslaught in Gaza, its intention to occupy the entire region, and the deliberate starvation of its 2.3 million residents.
Israel’s genocide on Gaza has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and wounded 153,213 since the start of the war in October 2023.
The announcement comes shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid rising criticism concerning the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, denounced Australia and European nations as “shameful” for their consideration of recognizing a Palestinian state.
The Australian Greens, the fourth-largest party in Australia’s Parliament, has welcomed Canberra’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state, while criticising the government for failing to “meet the moment.”
“What Australia has done today is take a tiny step away from a shrinking and discredited minority of states, centred on the US and Israel, to join the overwhelming majority of nations that already recognise Palestine,” David Shoebridge, the Greens spokesperson on foreign affairs, said in a statement.
He highlighted that mere condemnation and statements are insufficient to address the Gaza genocide, emphasizing the need for a more robust approach to ending the violence, focusing specifically on the importance of imposing comprehensive sanctions and stopping the two-way arms trade.
“Genocide is not a communications problem; an escalating series of statements will not end it. By contrast, ending the two-way arms trade as part of a comprehensive sanctions regime would have a significant impact. If Australia stopped exporting F-35 fighter jet parts to [Israeli-occupied territories], over time, Israel’s fleet of 40 F-35 fighter jets, being used to bomb Gaza, would be grounded.”
“This announcement, while welcome, will not meet the overwhelming calls from the Australian public for the government to take material action,” Shoebridge said.
......................
End/ 257
Your Comment