Albanese rejects premature Palestine recognition
'We won't make any decision as a gesture. We will do it as a way forward if the circumstances are met," PM tells ABC Insiders
Jewish community leaders have welcomed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s commitment not to follow France in prematurely recognising a Palestinian state.
Speaking on ABC TV’s Insiders on July 27, Albanese said Australia would not imminently recognise Palestine, saying, “What we will do is we’ll make a decision at the right time. Is the time right now? Are we about to imminently do that? No, we are not.”
“How do you exclude Hamas from any involvement there? How do you ensure that a Palestinian state operates in an appropriate way which does not threaten the existence of Israel?,” Albanese asked. “We won’t make any decision as a gesture. We will do it as a way forward if the circumstances are met.”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion welcomed Albanese’s “acknowledgement that Hamas is not only holding Israeli hostages, it is also holding the people of Gaza hostage by needlessly prolonging the conflict”.
“Recognition of a Palestinian state can only mean something when there is a single Palestinian government in control of its territory,” Aghion said. “Hamas continues to be the single biggest obstacle to achieving that goal. Until then, any form of recognition would merely be an exercise in symbolism.”
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