Israel’s president has accused Australia of rewarding “terror” in a firm rebuke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s pledge to recognise a Palestinian state.
Albanese said it was the best chance for peace in Gaza, amid increasing international opposition to Israel’s escalating war on the occupied territory and a week after at least 100,000 protesters marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in a call for greater action from Canberra.
But Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the move by Australia and several western allies was a “grave and dangerous mistake” that wouldn’t “help a single Palestinian and sadly will not bring back a single hostage”.
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“Israel has always strived, and will always strive, for peace with our neighbours including the Palestinians,” he said on Monday morning (Monday evening AEST), according to a statement from the Israeli government.
“When Israel fights cruel terror, it does so for the sake of peace and for the sake of the free world.
“These declarations, by Australia and other countries, are a reward for terror, a prize for the enemies of freedom, liberty, and democracy.”
Australia, alongside France, the United Kingdom and Canada, will recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in New York next month.
Nearly 150 of the 193 members of the UN already recognise Palestine – and many have done so for decades – but many Western powers have waited, arguing statehood should be part of a final agreement resolving the decades-old Middle East conflict.
“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 on Monday.
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“The international community’s vision for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East always encompassed two states, living side-by-side with internationally recognised borders: a state of Israel and a state of Palestine with security for the people of both nations.”
Israel rejects any recognition, as does the US, the only country that appears to have any leverage over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The diplomatic change – which includes conditions including no Hamas in government, demilitarisation and elections – comes as international experts warn Gaza is facing a “worst case scenario of famine” and Israel plans to take military control of Gaza City.
And Al Jazeera said five of its journalists and one other reporter were killed in a “targeted assassination” by Israel on Sunday that press advocates described as a brazen assault on those documenting the war.
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Israel’s ambassador to Australia accused Canberra of acting for “symbolic reasons” rather than any desire for peace.
“By recognising a Palestinian state now, Australia elevates the position of Hamas, a group it acknowledges as a terrorist organisation, while weakening the cause of those working to end violence and achieve genuine, lasting peace,” he said, in a statement.
Albanese insisted the move was not merely symbolic.
“This is a practical contribution towards building momentum,” he said.
“This is not Australia acting alone.”
Australia Palestine Advocacy Network Nasser Mashni decried Albanese’s recognition as too late and “completely meaningless” while the country continues to trade with Israel.
He told reporters in Melbourne on Monday that the move would do nothing to end the “ongoing genocide in Gaza which has been live-streamed for the entire world for two years”.
Albanese said he had a civil discussion with Netanyahu last week but the Israeli leader’s arguments “were very similar to the arguments that he put forward more than a year ago”.
He also spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose authority administers parts of the occupied West Bank, supports a two-state solution and cooperates with Israel on security matters. Australia and its allies have pledged to strengthen the Palestinian Authority alongside the statehood recognition.
Australia has designated Hamas a terrorist entity and Albanese repeated his government’s calls for the group to return Israeli hostages held since the October 7, 2023, attack in which Hamas militants abducted 251 people and killed about 1200 people, mostly civilians.
Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals but 50 remain in Gaza, about 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive.
Israel’s air and ground offensive has displaced most of the people in Gaza, destroyed vast areas, pushed the territory toward famine and, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, killed more than 61,400 Palestinians.
A two-state solution would see a state of Palestine created alongside Israel in most or all of the occupied West Bank, the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and annexed east Jerusalem.
Israel seized the territories in the 1967 Middle East war.
– Reported with Associated Press
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