Another Country Will Recognize a Palestinian State

Australia will recognize a Palestinian state, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday, joining the leaders of France, Britain, and Canada in signaling they would do so. His remarks followed weeks of urging from within his Cabinet and from many in Australia to recognize a Palestinian state and amid growing criticism from officials in his government over suffering in Gaza, which Albanese on Monday referred to as a "humanitarian catastrophe," the AP reports. Australia's government has also criticized plans announced in recent days by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu for a sweeping new military offensive in Gaza.

Albanese told reporters after a Cabinet meeting Monday that Australia's decision to recognize a Palestinian state will be formalized at the United Nations General Assembly in September. The acknowledgement was "predicated on commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority," Albanese said. Those commitments included no role for Hamas in a Palestinian government, demilitarization of Gaza, and the holding of elections, he said. "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," Albanese said.

Ahead of Albanese's announcement, Netanyahu on Sunday criticized Australia and other European countries that have moved to recognize a Palestinian state. "To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole ... this canard, is disappointing and I think it's actually shameful," the Israeli leader said. Nearly 150 of the 193 members of the United Nations have already recognized Palestinian statehood, most of them decades ago. The United States and other Western powers have held off, saying Palestinian statehood should be part of a final agreement resolving the decades-old Middle East conflict. In neighboring New Zealand, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Monday his government "will carefully weigh up its position" on recognizing a Palestinian state before making a formal decision in September.