Report: Commitments unlikely to be implemented

An Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) report released last week found that PA president Mahmoud Abbas’s commitments in return for recognition of Palestinian statehood are unlikely to be implemented.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in August that Australia’s recognition would be “predicated on the commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority [PA]”, including recognising Israel’s right to exist, demilitarising, holding elections, and abolishing the “pay-for-slay” program.

However, AIJAC executive director Colin Rubenstein said Abbas had “pledged reforms that the Palestinian public overwhelmingly reject”.

“Disarming Hamas, ending terrorist stipends, creating a demilitarised state and holding free elections are promises made for Western consumption, not deliverables grounded in Palestinian political reality,” Rubenstein said.

The AIJAC report analysed over a decade of Palestinian public opinion polling and found that Palestinian attitudes were “fundamentally at odds” with Abbas’s promises.