Australia appears to be gearing up to follow several major Western powers in recognising a Palestinian state at an upcoming United Nations meeting, a top international law expert says.
G7 nations France, the UK and Canada have committed to recognising Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September amid growing pressure for Israel to end the war in Gaza.
Australia looks set to join them after a significant shift in rhetoric in recent weeks, Australian National University professor Donald Rothwell said.
“Everything at the moment is pointing towards Australia positioning itself to make an announcement of the recognition of Palestine by the time of the (meeting),” he told AAP.
The Albanese government had been “softening” its position on recognising Palestine in the past two weeks, Prof Rothwell noted.
“The prime minister is also actually going to the United Nations General Assembly and it’s a very long time since the Australian prime minister has gone there,” he said.
“I’m sure that the prime minister is going there wanting to make an announcement of some significance and this will clearly be a significant announcement.”
Prof Rothwell also pointed to Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s recent stark comments about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and Israel’s plan to occupy the territory.
“The two-state solution is really just slipping away as a result of Israel’s campaign, and Australia doesn’t want to lose that opportunity,” he said.
In a joint statement with several other nations on Saturday, Senator Wong said the countries were committed to implementing a two-state solution to ensure peace for the Israeli and Palestinian people.
“A political resolution based on a negotiated two-state solution requires the total demilitarisation of Hamas and its complete exclusion from any form of governance in the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian Authority must have a central role,” the statement said.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke appeared on Sunday to soften the government’s stance on the future role of Hamas, a listed terrorist organisation in Australia, in a Palestinian state.
He noted terrorist forces had occupied other countries that Australia continued to recognise, citing Syria and Iraq as examples.
Prof Rothwell said Syria and Iraq were different from Palestine because Australia had recognised them long before ISIS emerged and took control of large parts.
“The minister is making the point … at some point in time, Hamas might play a role in that Palestinian state but that would not see Australia revisit its recognition,” he said.
Mr Burke might also have been signalling further nuance in Australia’s developing position – that it might be prepared to move towards recognition of Palestine while Hamas continued to have a role in Gaza, Prof Rothwell said.
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