Australia says it plans to recognize a Palestinian state

Australia said Monday that it plans to recognize a Palestinian state, joining a growing list of Western governments making the move as Israel becomes increasingly isolated over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government would recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in New York next month.

“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 said at a news conference after a cabinet meeting in Canberra.

The Australian announcement follows similar ones in recent weeks by Britain, France and Canada. Though largely symbolic, they indicate a broader global shift against Israel’s policies in Gaza, where the United Nations and others say people are dying of malnutrition and starvation after months of limited or nonexistent aid.

Albanese said Australia’s position was predicated on the commitments it had received from the Palestinian Authority, including that there would be no role for Hamas in any future Palestinian state.

The Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023, with a terrorist attack on Israel in which Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and abducted 251 others. Albanese said Australia stands with Israel in calling for the release of the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza, about 20 of whom Israel believes are still alive.

“For the sake of their loved ones and all who share in their pain, we repeat that call today,” he said.

New Zealand also said Monday that it was considering recognition of a Palestinian state and would make a formal decision in September.

“New Zealand has been clear for some time that our recognition of a Palestinian state is a matter of when, not if,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized such moves at a news conference on Sunday before Australia’s announcement.

“To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole, just like that, fall right into it, and buy this canard, is disappointing, and I think it’s actually shameful,” he said.

Netanyahu also defended his government’s widely condemned proposal for a new military offensive in Gaza, which critics say is likely to worsen the humanitarian crisis in the enclave and further endanger the hostages still being held by Hamas.

He said Israel had “no choice” but to “finish the job” and “defeat Hamas,” and that his goal was to rescue the remaining hostages.

Netanyahu also denied there was starvation in Gaza, a claim directly contradicted on Sunday by a U.N. official briefing an emergency meeting of the Security Council.

“This is no longer a looming hunger crisis — this is starvation, pure and simple,” U.N. humanitarian coordination official Ramesh Rajasingham told the council.