Australia PM Anthony Stuns Israel, Recognises Palestine as Independent State
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that his country will formally recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September. This move is a reversal from his statement two weeks ago in which he had said that he would not take such a step in the near future.
Albanese said after the cabinet meeting, "We will accept the rights of the Palestinian people based on the commitments of the Palestinian Authority (PA). We will work with the international community to make this a reality." He described the move as part of a global effort that would help establish peace in the Middle East. Albanese made it clear that Hamas would have no place in any Palestinian state. At the same time, he accused Israel of violating human rights in Gaza and ignoring international law. He described the situation in Gaza as "worse than the worst situation in the world".
The Prime Minister said that the Palestinian Authority has made some important promises, on the basis of which this decision has been taken. These include keeping Hamas out of the government, demilitarization of Gaza and holding elections pending since 2006. Apart from this, the Palestinian Authority has assured to accept Israel's right to peace and security, international monitoring to stop provocation and stop financial assistance given to the families of terrorists (called 'payment for murder'). Albanese believes that this is the best way to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and end the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza. He discussed this issue with Britain, France, New Zealand, Japan, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the last two weeks. His discussion with Netanyahu was civil and long, but he said that the arguments of the Israeli PM are old.
Earlier, Netanyahu had criticized this initiative of some European countries. He called it "absurd" and "shameful". At the same time, the Albanese government has also recently condemned Israel's plan for a new military attack on Gaza. Before Australia, countries like the UK, France and Canada have expressed their opinion in favor of Palestine.