‘Coordinated Global Effort’: Australia to Recognize Independent Palestinian State

Latest Developments

‘Momentum for a Two-State Solution’ Claim: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Australia will formally recognize a Palestinian state when the UN General Assembly meets in September, following similar statements over the past month from France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Malta. Albanese stated that the move is “part of a coordinated global effort building momentum for a two-state solution,” adding that 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.” New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters, while not making a formal announcement, said that his country is also considering recognizing a Palestinian state at the upcoming General Assembly meeting.
Promises From Palestinian Authority: Albanese claimed the recognition decision was predicated on promises for reforms that he received from Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA). The PA’s reforms reportedly include a commitment to demilitarization, holding elections, ending the system of payments to families of dead or imprisoned terrorists — also known as ‘pay-for-slay’ — reforms to governance and education, and allowing “international oversight to guard against the incitement of violence and hatred.” The government’s decision to grant recognition was made against a background of surging antisemitic incidents in Australia since the October 7, 2023, Hamas atrocities in Israel, with more than 2,000 incidents recorded, among them arson attacks and vandalism targeting synagogues and educational institutions, physical assaults, and acts of harassment.
‘Shameful’: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called efforts to recognize a Palestinian state while Hamas still holds 50 hostages in Gaza “shameful.” Emphasizing that “it’s not going to change our position,” Netanyahu observed, “To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole, just like that, fall right into it, and buy this canard is disappointing … We will not commit national suicide to get a good op-ed for two minutes.” U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance emphasized on August 8 that the United States had “no plans to recognize a Palestinian state,” especially “given the lack of functional government there,” while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on August 9 that France’s recognition of a Palestinian state had ended any chance of successful ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.

FDD Expert Response

“Albanese is cementing Australia’s turn from Israel ally to Hamas enabler. Despite Albanese’s protestations that Hamas must be excluded from Palestinian governance, Hamas will reap the rewards from the gift thrown to the Palestinians as a response to the war the terrorist group launched. And despite the move’s stated aim of hastening a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, recognizing a Palestinian state will make the Palestinians even less likely to compromise on their maximalist demands.” — David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst

“Nearly two years after the Hamas massacre, antisemitism has become mainstream in Australia. By choosing to recognize the corrupt and dishonest Palestinian Authority, Albanese is playing to the antisemitic gallery in his own country. Such a move will not be enough for Hamas supporters in Australia, however. They will continue demanding more stringent measures, including sanctions and mass boycotts, as part of their contribution to the Hamas goal of isolating the Jewish state as a prelude to its destruction.” — Ben Cohen, Senior Analyst and Rapid Response Director