Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed Australia will formally recognise a Palestinian state during this week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, joining the UK, Canada and several European nations in a move he framed as a step toward global peace and stability.
Upon arriving in New York on Sunday, Albanese said his wish was for “increased peace, security and prosperity worldwide,” emphasising Australia’s role as “a trusted partner and ally” in the Indo-Pacific, the Pacific region, with ASEAN neighbours, and with traditional allies including Five Eyes partners such as the US and UK.
The recognition, announced in August, is largely symbolic given that Palestinians remain under Israeli military occupation without defined borders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the move as “rewarding terror.” Senior Republicans in Washington – including former presidential candidate Ted Cruz – warned Albanese, Canada’s and Britain’s leaders in a letter to reconsider this “reckless policy,” arguing it “sets the dangerous precedent that violence, not diplomacy, is the most expedient means for groups like Hamas to achieve their goals.” They cautioned that such recognition could “imperil the security” of Australia and its allies, exacerbate anti-Semitic incidents already rising in Western countries, and “invite punitive measures” from Washington.
Albanese defended the decision, stressing it followed assurances from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that Hamas would have “no role” in any future Palestinian state and reaffirmed recognition of Israel’s right to exist in peace and security. He reiterated that a two-state solution remains “humanity’s best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and end the conflict, suffering, and starvation in Gaza.”
Australia’s recognition brings the total number of UN member states acknowledging Palestinian statehood to 148 out of 193. However, the United States continues to withhold recognition and has vetoed past attempts by the Palestinian Authority to gain UN membership. The decision marks a significant shift in Canberra’s foreign policy and underscores Albanese’s positioning of Australia as a proactive voice in Middle East diplomacy, even as it risks friction with Washington and criticism from Israel.
