Australia will recognize a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly to add momentum for a two-state solution, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, the Times of Israel reported on Aug. 11. However, that action will be predicated on commitments Australia received from the Palestinian Authority, including that Hamas would have no involvement in any future state. “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,” Albanese said at a news conference.
He also said the PA has pledged to affirm Israel’s right to exist in peace and security, and to hold substantial reforms, including international oversight to prevent incitement and abolishing a payment system for Palestinian security prisoners and families of dead assailants, all of which happen to be conditions demanded by Israel as well. He also argued, however, that Israel “continues to defy” international law, with the situation in Gaza “beyond the world’s worst dreams.”
