Australia to recognise Palestinian state as criticism of Israel grows

Australia will recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday.

"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," he told reporters in Canberra.

"Until Israeli and Palestinian statehood is permanent, peace can only be temporary.

"Australia will recognise the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own. We will work with the international community to make this right a reality."

Israel's war on Gaza has revived a global push for Palestinians to be given a state of their own.

According to an AFP tally, at least 145 of the 193 UN members now recognise or plan to recognise a Palestinian state, including France, Canada, and Britain.

"There is a moment of opportunity here, and Australia will work with the international community to seize it," Albanese said.

He said that Australia's decision was predicated on reassurances from the Palestinian Authority that there would be "no role for the terrorists of Hamas in any future Palestinian state".

The Palestinian Authority, however, does not have a presence in Gaza, which has been governed by Hamas for nearly two decades.

'Shameful'

Israel's ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, hit out at the decision and said the decision was symbolic, rather than "genuine progress towards peace".

"Let us be clear: this decision will not change the reality on the ground," Maimon said in a statement on social media.

Just hours earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised international calls to recognise Palestinian statehood, saying it would "not bring peace, it will bring war".

International concern is growing about the plight of the more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as Israel's blockade and bombardment have triggered a dire humanitarian crisis and mass starvation.

Albanese further criticised the Israeli government on Monday, saying it continued to defy "international law and deny sufficient aid".

As the global movement to recognise a Palestinian state grows, New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters said his country would carefully consider whether to do the same over the next month.

He added that New Zealand's recognition of a Palestinian state was a "matter of when, not if".

"The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is rightly at the forefront of the global agenda," he said.

Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry.