Australia to Recognise Palestinian State

Australia will move to recognise a state of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly next month, with a condition that terror group Hamas play no role in its future governance.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia would work with the international community to make recognition a reality.

"Australia will recognise the state of Palestine. Australia will recognise the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own, predicated on the commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority," Mr Albanese said.

"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 Palestinian Authority has promised Australia it would recognise Israel's right to exist, demilitarise and hold general elections, among other commitments.

Mr Albanese said every generation had known "failures and false storms" in the decades of failure to internationally recognise a state of Israel and of Palestine.

But he said the world could not wait for success to be guaranteed.

"The risk of trying is nothing compared to the danger of letting this moment pass us by. The toll of the status quo is growing by the day and it could be measured in innocent lives," Mr Albanese said.

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."

The prime minister said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a "long" and "civil" discussion.

"The arguments he put to me were very similar to the arguments he put more than a year ago. It seems to me very clearly … we need a political solution, not a military one," he said.

"I have said it publicly and I said it directly to Prime Minister Netanyahu: the situation in Gaza has gone beyond the world's worst fears.

"Far too many innocent lives have been lost. The Israeli government continues to defy international law and deny sufficient aid, food and water to desperate people, including children.

"This vital aid must be allowed to get to the people who need it most. This is about much more than drawing a line on a map."

Ahead of the decision, Mr Netanyahu told journalists that Australia and other nations were "delusional" for thinking Palestinian recognition would bring peace.

"To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole, just like that. Fall right into it … I think it's actually shameful, but it's not going to change our position," Mr Netanyahu said.

Recognition 'practical contribution' to peace, says PM

Australia has long maintained a bipartisan position that the states of Israel and Palestine should be able to peacefully coexist under a "two-state solution" and within internationally recognised borders.

But as a number of Australia's allies, including the United Kingdom, France and Canada, say they are prepared to formally recognise Palestine next month, momentum has built for Australia to follow.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters confirmed this afternoon it too was carefully weighing its position on recognition and would decide in the next month.

The prime minister said last month, however, his government would only move to recognise Palestine if doing so would be a "meaningful" contribution to peace.

Senator Wong said, "September is that time".

Australia's recognition of Palestine would not immediately shift its legal standing.

But it would mark a historic moment for Australia to add its voice to international calls for recognition, and build pressure on Israel and the United States to find a pathway towards recognition.

"This is a practical contribution towards building momentum," Mr Albanese said.

"This is not Australia acting alone. What we are seeing is a range of countries engaging in detailed dialogue … behind the scenes, if you like, about what peace looks like in the region."

The Palestinian Authority's President Mahmoud Abbas told Anthony Albanese last week that Australia could play an "important" role as a diplomatic middle power by recognising Palestine.

US maintains veto power over Palestinian recognition

The United Kingdom has said it will also formally recognise Palestine at the September UN meeting unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza and resumes humanitarian aid.

And Canada and France have said they intend to recognise Palestine at the UN, with conditions that Hamas play no role in its future governance.

France and the UK's recognition would leave the United States as the sole permanent member of the UN Security Council not to have recognised Palestine.

However, as a permanent member, the US has a veto power over Security Council resolutions, a power it has previously used to block Palestine's admission.

US President Donald Trump has said recognising Palestine in September would be "rewarding Hamas" after its October 7, 2023, attack, when hundreds of Israeli civilians were killed and more than 200 people taken hostage.

The US embassy confirmed Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke earlier today, and discussed "issues" in the Middle East.

Currently, 147 of the 193 UN member states recognise Palestine as a sovereign state.