Watch: “Australia will recognize the state of Palestine”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia will recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, a move taken by similarly in the UK, France and Canada.
Albanis said Australia has received commitments from the Palestinian authorities (PA) including demilitarization, holding general elections and continuing to recognize Israel's right to survive.
“A two-state solution is the greatest hope for humanity to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and end the Gaza conflict, suffering and hunger,” he said on Monday.
Under pressure to end the Gaza war increasingly, Israel said it recognized the Palestinian state “reward terrorism.”
According to Hamas-Ministry of Operations, five people have died since Saturday due to hunger and malnutrition in Gaza, bringing the total to 217 deaths.
It also said that since 2023, more than 61,000 people have been killed in total due to Israel’s military campaign.
Israel launched an attack on the Hamas-led attack on October 7 of that year, with about 1,200 people killed and another 251 were taken hostage.
The Palestinian Authority, which controls parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, earlier said recognition of the state shows that support for people's self-determination is increasing.
Albanis said the decision came after his administration received a promise from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who believes Hamas will have no effect in any future state.
Albanis said the move also follows a conversation with rivals from Britain, France, New Zealand and Japan in the past two weeks.
“There is an opportunity here and Australia will work with the international community to seize it,” he told the media.
A pro-Palestinian protest attracted thousands of supporters who crossed the Sydney Harbour Bridge last Sunday, the day after the court ruling made the demonstrations take place.
The United States said it would not follow suit and believed that recognizing Palestinian democracy would be a reward for Hamas.
Last weekend, U.S. Vice President JD Vance reiterated that the United States had no plans to recognize the Palestinian state’s plans, citing a lack of functional government.
At a press conference on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the state that planned to recognize the Palestinian state.
“It's disappointing to get European countries and Australia into that rabbit hole…I think it's actually shameful,” he said.
“They know that if you're next to Melbourne or next to Sydney, you're going to have this horrible attack. I think you're going to do at least what we're doing.”
Israel has been under fire in recent days for its plan to take over Gaza City, with the UN ambassador condemning Netanyahu's claim to be the “best way” to end the war.
Last year, Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized Palestine as a country, hoping it would encourage a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
Currently, Palestinian state has 147 of the 193 member states of the United Nations.
In the United Nations, it has the status of a “permanent observer state” that allows participation but does not have the right to vote.