Renewed recognition push
The letter also called for an 'immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza'.
Following the government’s resounding election victory, Labor Friends of Palestine has wasted no time calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to recognise a Palestinian state.
In a letter last Friday claiming to be “on behalf of rank-and-file Labor members”, the group called on the government to “join the overwhelming majority of the international community in recognising Palestinian statehood” at a UN conference in June.
The letter also called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza” without mentioning the 58 hostages still in captivity. It did not mention Hamas at all.
“As usual, those claiming to support Palestinian rights ignore the role Hamas plays in devastating Gaza and denying its people the right to live in peace and a state of their own,” Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein said.
“Labor’s re-election provides it with a unique opportunity to reaffirm Australia’s longstanding bipartisan position, promoting a two-state outcome through negotiations. This requires calling on and pressuring Hamas to disarm, while urging the Palestinian Authority to return to the direct negotiations it walked away from 11 years ago.”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion noted that Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong “have said many times” there must be no role for Hamas in the future governance of Gaza. “We expect that position to remain unchanged for the foreseeable future,” he said.
“While Hamas remains in effective control of large parts of the Gazan population, any call for Australia to recognise a state of Palestine would be contrary to current government policy.”
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said prematurely recognising a Palestinian state “will simply sentence innocent Palestinians to decades more of oppression under the tyranny of their own corrupt leaders”.
“The practical reality … is that Hamas still remains in power in Gaza, 58 hostages are still being held captive, and the Palestinian Authority has yet to undergo significant reform,” he said.
Asked for assurance Australia would not prematurely recognise such a state, a spokesperson for Wong told The AJN, “The Albanese government has made clear that we will be guided by whether recognition of a Palestinian state will advance the cause of a just and enduring peace. We see no role for Hamas in any future Palestinian state.
“Australia has long been part of the international call for a ceasefire [in Gaza], for the unconditional and immediate release of hostages, the protection of civilians and safe and unimpeded humanitarian access.”