Australia will formally recognise Palestinian statehood in a significant diplomatic step aimed at ending suffering and violence in Gaza, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Monday, 11 August.
Mr Albanese said Australia would join allies such as France, the UK and Canada in recognising Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September.
“Australia will recognise the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own,” the prime minister told reporters in Canberra.
“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.”
The Prime Minister said Palestinian recognition was part of international efforts to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.
He also said any recognition would need to guarantee that the designated terror group Hamas, which de facto governs Gaza, played no role in its future government.
Mr Albanese revealed he spoke on Thursday to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and advocated for a political solution to the conflict.
The federal government has been under increasing pressure to do more on the Middle East as more than two-million Palestinians are being starved, according to UN projections.
At least 90,000 protesters marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in early August, with Action for Palestine estimating the turnout could have been as high as 300,000.
Thousands more gathered in other Australian capitals, urging the government to impose sanctions on Israel.
“This is about much more than drawing a line on a map. This is about delivering a lifeline to the people of Gaza,” Mr Albanese said.
“The toll of the status quo is growing by the day, and it can be measured in innocent lives. The world cannot wait for success to be guaranteed.”
Yet some activists say recognition without further action risks being meaningless.
The Knox4Palestine organiser, Jye Batham welcomed the federal government’s intention to recognise Palestinian statehood as a result of almost two years of grassroots pressure.
However, Mr Batham said, “without material action, including the complete suspension of trade and diplomatic ties with Israel, including the withdrawal of Australia from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, recognition of Palestine is meaningless.”
He criticised the two-state solution as “a lie that would ensure Israel continues to enjoy complete domination over the Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and those within Israel’s officially recognised borders.”
Speaking about the importance of local community engagement, he noted the global connections involved.
“There is a company here in Knox called Rosebank Engineering who are the sole supplier globally of the part that opens the bomb bay doors on the F-35 fighter jet, which has enabled Israel to enact its systematic extermination of Palestinians in Gaza. There are at least 70 other such companies in Australia.”
Mr Batham also highlighted concerns about democratic freedoms in Australia.
“Every Australian should be horrified by the ongoing draconian attempts to stifle free speech and the democratic right to protest, not to mention the clear inability of our government to reflect the will of their constituents. This issue has revealed that our democratic systems are failing,” he said.
Since the government’s announcement, local awareness has shifted.
“As I got off the train at Bayswater on Monday evening, a man in a suit pointed at my ‘Free Palestine’ pin and said ‘nice badge!’” Mr Batham recalled.
“It’s clear that the government’s statement has helped legitimise Palestine as an issue to engage with.”
Despite cautious optimism, Mr Batham said the community feels let down by political representatives.
“We’re all feeling pretty let down by our political representatives. Many of us are constantly emailing and calling their offices, and following a couple of meetings with our Federal Labor MP Mary Doyle last year, her refusal to meet with us again has left us feeling pushed aside and ignored,” he said.
“We’re witnessing the most documented genocide in history unfold on our smart phones, and we’re burning ourselves out trying to do something about it because Labor aren’t.”
Star Mail contacted Ms Doyle’s office for comment.
The crisis in Gaza began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1200 people and taking about 250 more hostage.
Israel’s military response has since killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
Israel has denied that the population is suffering or dying from starvation, even though it has throttled the flow of aid to Gaza for months, international human rights groups have said.
