Israel has accused Australia of undermining its security and helping Hamas after Anthony Albanese announced that his government will formally recognise Palestinian statehood at the UN next month. The Prime Minister made the long-awaited announcement at a press conference in Canberra on Monday afternoon after similar commitments were made by other Western allies including the UK, France and Canada.

‘Today I can confirm that at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September, Australia will recognise the state of Palestine,’ Albanese told reporters. ‘Australia will recognise the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own predicated on the commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority.’ These commitments include the terrorist group Hamas playing no role in a future Palestinian state, free elections being held and demilitarisation of the region.

However, Israel’s ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon unleashed on the decision, claiming ‘peace is built by ending terror, not rewarding it’. ‘By recognising a Palestinian state while Hamas continues to kill, kidnap and reject peace, Australia undermines Israel’s security, derails hostage negotiations and hands a victory to those who oppose coexistence,’ he added. He added: ‘Rewarding those who use terror as a political tool sends the dangerous message that violence brings political gains. By recognising a Palestinian state now, Australia elevates the position of Hamas, a group it acknowledges as a terrorist organisation, while weakening the cause of those working to end violence and achieve genuine, lasting peace.’

Albanese said he had made the move as part of a ‘coordinated global effort’ after speaking to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

He said he had also discussed the issue with the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him in a blunt conversation that the situation in Gaza had deteriorated ‘beyond the world’s worst fears’. Crucially, however, Albanese has still not spoken to US President Donald Trump. The US holds the power to veto any United Nations Security Council resolution to recognise Palestine as a state. Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who appeared alongside Albanese at the press conference, told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about Australia’s intentions in a call earlier on Monday ‘as a matter of diplomatic courtesy’.

Albanese rebutted Netanyahu’s comments that recognising Palestine would not bring about peace. ‘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 added. ‘The international community’s vision for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East always encompassed two states – living side-by-side with internationally recognised borders. A state of Israel and a state of Palestine with security for the people of both nations.’ Albanese said the recognition was contingent on Hamas playing no role in the future of any Palestinian state. ‘This is one of the commitments Australia has sought and received from President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority,’ Albanese said.

He said that he had also received assurances from the Palestinian Authority that it will demilitarise and hold general elections. Albanese also called for the return of the October 7 hostages. But Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) president Daniel Aghion KC slammed the Albanese government for not outlining the consequences of the Palestinian Authority failing to fulfil these promises. ‘The major flaw in the announcement is that it relegates all of these conditions to the status of a mere promise to be fulfilled at some future time, and says nothing about what will happen if those conditions are not met,’ Mr Aghion KC said. ‘For this reason, we feel that the course of action announced by the government is a betrayal and abandonment of the Israeli hostages who continue to languish in appalling conditions in Gaza without even access to the Red Cross.’

‘This announcement gives them no hope for release. It leaves Hamas armed and in control of territory, and in a position to regroup and rearm, thereby creating the conditions for the next war rather than a comprehensive peace. Australia is now committed to recognising as a state an entity with no agreed borders, no single government in effective control of its territory, and no demonstrated capacity to live in peace with its neighbours.’ Mr Aghion KC added that ‘Israel will feel wronged and abandoned by a longstanding ally’. ‘The Palestinian Authority will feel that a huge diplomatic prize has been dropped in its lap, despite its consistent failures to reform, democratise and agree to peaceful coexistence alongside a Jewish state,’ he added. ‘Hamas and other Islamist groups will see that barbarity on a grand scale can lead to desired political transformation.’

During a rare press conference for the international media overnight, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was an ‘absurdity’ to recognise Palestinian statehood. ‘It defies imagination or understanding how intelligent people around the world, including seasoned diplomats, government leaders, and respected journalists, fall for this absurdity,’ he said. In his comments, Netanyahu singled out Australia in particular – even though the country had not yet formally expressed a position on recognition. During his press conference, Netanyahu claimed a Palestinian statehood would bring war rather than peace. ‘To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole, just like that is disappointing, and I think it’s actually shameful,’ he said.

Netanyahu also vehemently denied the accusations that Israel has led a ‘starvation policy’, denying Palestinians access to food and humanitarian aid. However, an overwhelming majority of evidence suggests aid restrictions have led to the dire situation currently playing out in Gaza. ‘I have said it publicly and I said it directly to Prime Minister Netanyahu – the situation in Gaza has gone beyond the world’s worst fears,’ Albanese told reporters on Monday. ‘Far too many innocent lives have been lost. The Israeli Government continues to defy international law and deny sufficient aid, food and water to desperate people, including children. This vital aid must be allowed to get to the people who need it most.’

Albanese has long supported a two-state solution. As a young MP he led protests, co-founded the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine, visited Gaza camps and criticised Israel in parliament. In 1998, he even sat down and met, with then-Liberal MP Joe Hockey, the Palestinian activist-turned-president Yasser Arafat.