SYDNEY, August 11. /TASS/. Canberra will recognize the State of Palestine in September, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
"Today, I can confirm that at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September, Australia will recognize the State of Palestine. Australia will recognize the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own, predicated on the commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority. We will work with the international community to make this right a reality," he told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
According to him, the decision is part of a coordinated global effort aimed at resolving the Middle East conflict based on a two-state solution. Albanese pointed out that he had discussed the issue with the leaders of the UK, France, Japan, and New Zealand, as well as with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Albanese stressed that Australia "has stood with the people of Israel" after the October 2023 Hamas attack. He called for the release of the Israeli hostages held by the movement. In addition, the Palestinian Authority assured Canberra that "there can be no role for the terrorists of Hamas in any future Palestinian state" and re-affirmed that it recognizes Israel’s right to exist. It also "committed to demilitarize and to hold general elections," and "abolish the system of payments to the families of prisoners and martyrs."
An international campaign to recognize the State of Palestine began amid Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip, which has been going on for nearly two years, leading to a devastating humanitarian situation. On July 29, the office of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer published a statement saying that if Israel continued to hinder humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, London would recognize the State of Palestine ahead of the September session of the UN General Assembly. On July 24, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris would recognize the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly session.