Albanese resists ‘moral momentum’ call to join UK plans for recognising Palestine

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is resisting British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s call to recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel takes urgent steps towards peace, as rank-and-file Labor members and a former frontbencher urge Australia to add to “moral momentum”.

Australia issued a statement with 14 other countries on Wednesday saying it would consider Palestinian statehood as a step towards a two-state solution, and encouraged other nations to do the same, but stopped short of endorsing the United Kingdom’s major foreign policy shift.

Global pressure is mounting on Israel over starvation in Gaza.Credit: Bloomberg

Starmer overnight heightened pressure on Israel to commit to a ceasefire by declaring the UK would recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire, two-state solution and ends the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The British prime minister said this was “the moment to act” following a declaration from French President Emmanuel Macron last week that France would recognise a Palestinian state at the UN – although the UK has placed a caveat on its plan in a bid to give Israel an incentive to act.

Labor MP Ed Husic, who has been vocal on the issue since losing his ministry after the election, said his caucus colleagues had “deep feeling” about Palestinian recognition and called for the Australian government to support the UK position.

He said the government’s position on recognising Palestine once conditions, such as ending Hamas’ rule of Gaza, was understandable.

“But moral momentum cannot be ignored, and that momentum is significant at the moment, and it requires of us a reconsideration of our approach,” Husic said.

Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michelle O’Neil echoed the backbencher. “I really welcome the comments that have been made by the prime minister and foreign minister about all these issues and the action that’s already been taken, but this is urgent,” she said.

But Albanese, who spoke with Starmer overnight, said Australia was not concerned by the timeframe for recognition.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared the major policy shift after France announced it would recognise Palestine.Credit: Getty Images

“What we’re looking [at] is the circumstances where recognition will advance the objective of the creation of two states,” Albanese said at a press conference later on Wednesday morning.

“My entire political life, I’ve said I support two states, the right of Israel to exist within secure borders and the right of Palestinians to have their legitimate aspirations for their own state realised. That is my objective. Not making a statement, not winning a political point, but achieving that.”

Albanese pointed to a separate statement that Wong co-signed on Wednesday with allies including Canada, France and New Zealand, demanding a ceasefire and reiterating an “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution” while condemning Hamas’ October 7 attacks.

The nations said they had “already recognised, have expressed or express the willingness or the positive consideration of our countries to recognise the State of Palestine, as an essential step towards the two-state solution, and invite all countries that have not done so to join this call”.

They also said Gaza should be unified with the West Bank under the governance of the Palestinian Authority, an idea that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly rejected.

It came on the same day that a United Nations working group, which included the Arab League, released a seven-page plan to end the war and progress towards a two-state solution that did not involve Hamas, which Australia will be asked to vote on in September.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said she was concerned the Albanese government would be willing to recognise a Palestinian state before the conclusion of a formal two-state process.

“The question of recognising Palestinian statehood should come at the end of the peace negotiation process, not at the start or during it,” she said.

“This is a moment for international leaders to be applying maximum pressure on the listed terrorist organisation Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release all remaining hostages and disarm.”

Starmer had previously pledged to recognise Palestine as part of a two-state solution alongside Israel, but he shifted policy after a special cabinet meeting on Monday to say the UK was prepared to act even if Israel did not agree.

“I’ve always said we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution,” Starmer said. “With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act.”

Starmer condemned Hamas, a listed terrorist group in the UK as it is in Australia, and said peace in Gaza required the Palestinian militants to disarm.

Netanyahu said Starmer was appeasing the terrorist group. “Starmer rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism & punishes its victims,” he posted on social media.

The UN said reports indicated on Tuesday that 60,000 Gazans had now been killed since Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel sparked the war in October 2023. Netanyahu has been bluntly contradicted by other world leaders for claiming there was no starvation in Gaza, with US President Donald Trump saying children were starving.

Trump did not back the UK argument but made no criticism of Starmer, saying it was “OK” that the UK was following France.

“It doesn’t mean I have to agree,” he told reporters on Air Force One. He repeated his concern, aired at a press conference with Starmer in Scotland the previous day, that children were starving.

About 144 of the 193 member states of the UN recognise Palestine as a state, including Russia, China and India. Only a handful of the 27 European Union members do so.

Colin Rubenstein, executive director of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, said Britain’s plan to recognise Palestine was counterproductive and would encourage Hamas to reject ceasefire proposals.

“It is encouraging that Australia is taking a more responsible approach, by insisting that the Palestinians take at least some of the steps necessary for a genuine two-state peace before Australia will consider offering recognition,” Rubenstein said.

Peter Moss, co-convenor of Labor Friends of Palestine, said it was “misleading and disrespectful” for Albanese to dismiss demands for sanctions on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials as “slogans”.

“The Prime Minister and the government are well aware of the overwhelming support for sanctions that are clearly defined in a motion passed by more than 80 Labor Party units in recent weeks,” he said.

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.