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Australia, Spain hint towards considering recognition of Palestinian state
Australian foreign minister Penny Wong said that this move was being taken to accelerate the momentum towards peace between the two sides.
Australian foreign minister Penny Wong indicated the possibility of the island country considering recognising a Palestinian state, which is a shift in policy as the West is continually urging for a two-state nation to end the Israel-Hamas crisis that has been ongoing for the past six months.
Wong agreed with a speech by UK foreign secretary David Cameron, who said that the recognition of a Palestinian state would make the two-state solution, offered by the United Nations, irreversible.
Wong said that this move was being taken to accelerate the momentum towards peace between the two sides.
Australia has earlier said that the recognition of a Palestinian state could only be a part of a two-state solution deal brokered with Israel. However, the stance seems to have changed.
Read Here: Israel, Hamas discuss Gaza truce deal amid ongoing war
Speaking at the Australian National University, Wong said, “A two-state solution is the only hope to break the endless cycle of violence. The failures of this approach by all parties over decades - as well as the Netanyahu government's refusal to even engage on the question of a Palestinian state - have caused widespread frustration.”
Several international peace efforts over the years have tried to solidify the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine in order to solve the longstanding conflict. However, for more than a decade, before the current war between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel broke out, the talks have stood stalled.
Palestinians' longstanding aspiration for an independent state in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East War, remains steadfast. This state would also encompass Gaza.
The foreign affairs spokesperson of Australia's opposition Simon Birmingham said, “The Albanese government's argument to pre-emptively recognise a Palestinian state puts statehood before security, and will be seen as a win by the terrorists who initiated the current horrific conflict.”
Read Here: Israeli proposal fails to meet Palestinian demands, claims Hamas
Wong also said that claims that such a move “rewarding the enemy” are “wrong”. She added that Israel's security was dependent on a two-state solution and it would also help in eliminating Hamas.
As reported by BBC, the UN might be considering granting Palestine — currently an ‘observer state’ — a full membership of the organisation.
The conflict in Gaza, which erupted after Hamas initiated an attack on Israel on October 7, resulting in approximately 1,200 casualties and over 250 people being held captive, has claimed the lives of over 33,000 Palestinians, as reported by the health ministry under Hamas control. Extensive damage has been inflicted on many parts of the region, pushing numerous Palestinians to the brink of starvation.
Australia has been extremely vocal lately and has voiced concerns about Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza, especially after Israeli Defense Forces killed an Australian aid worker, among six others, after wrongly identifying them as Hamas militants.
What have other nations said?
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday that the “disproportionate response” of Israel towards Gaza was “destabilising the Middle East, and as a consequence, the entire world”.
Sanchez added that a separate state for Palestinian people would be in “Europe's geopolitical interests”. He said, “The international community cannot help the Palestinian state if it does not recognise its existence.”
Read Here | Biden talks tough on Netanyahu's approach in Gaza: ‘What he’s doing is a mistake’
Britain's foreign secretary David Cameron said in January that the UK had the responsibility to figure out what a Palestinian state would look like. He added that the people of Palestine should be shown “irreversible progress” regarding the two-state solution.
“As that happens, we - with allies - will look at the issue of recognising a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations. That could be one of the things that helps to make this process irreversible.”
He added, “Together with that, almost most important of all, is to give the Palestinian people a political horizon so that they can see that there is going to be irreversible progress to a two-state solution and crucially the establishment of a Palestinian state. We have a responsibility there because we should be starting to set out what a Palestinian state would look like, what it would comprise, how it would work and crucially, looking at the issue, that as that happens, we with allies will look at the issue of recognising a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations. That could be one of the things that helps to make this process irreversible.”
