Wednesday | 13rd August 2025
CANBERRA — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Monday that Australia will formally recognize a Palestinian state in September, marking a significant shift in foreign policy and placing the country among a growing list of Western allies moving toward recognition amid intensifying international outrage over Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The announcement came during a press conference in Canberra, where Albanese said the official recognition would take place at the United Nations General Assembly next month. “Australia will recognize the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own predicated on the commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority,” he said. The prime minister emphasized that the decision followed extensive diplomatic engagement and was grounded in specific assurances from Palestinian leaders.
Just hours earlier, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters confirmed that his country was also actively considering recognition of Palestinian statehood, with a final decision expected at a cabinet meeting in September. Peters stressed that this was not a question of if, but when, echoing language Australian officials had used in the lead-up to Monday’s announcement.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, speaking at a separate press conference, described the situation in Gaza as “an absolute human catastrophe” but urged a careful approach. “It’s entirely appropriate that we take the time to actually make sure we weigh up our decision and work that through in a sensible way,” Luxon said.
With Australia joining the United Kingdom, France, and Canada in pledging to recognize a Palestinian state in September, the United States finds itself increasingly isolated among close allies in its staunch defense of Israel’s ongoing military campaign. The war in Gaza, now nearing its two-year mark, has left tens of thousands dead, displaced hundreds of thousands, and severely damaged the enclave’s already fragile infrastructure.
If New Zealand moves ahead, four of the five member nations in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance — Australia, Canada, the UK, and New Zealand — will have recognized Palestinian statehood, leaving the US as the sole holdout.
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark criticized Luxon’s cautious stance, saying Wellington risked appearing morally absent on the issue. “We now really seem to stand for nothing except somehow wanting to save our own skin in a tariff war,” she told RNZ on Tuesday. “I think it’s really quite a humiliating position for New Zealand to be in.”
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong revealed that she had informed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of Canberra’s plans in a phone call on Sunday, giving Washington advance notice. However, a US readout of the call made no mention of Palestinian statehood. Rubio, speaking last week in an interview with Catholic broadcaster EWTN, dismissed such recognitions as “largely symbolic” moves that, in his view, “embolden Hamas and make it harder to achieve peace.”
Albanese countered that Australia had secured explicit guarantees from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that Hamas would have no role in any future Palestinian state. Other conditions outlined by Canberra include a commitment to demilitarization, the holding of free and fair general elections, the abolition of what Albanese described as a “system of payments to the families of prisoners and martyrs,” comprehensive governance and education reforms, and international oversight to prevent incitement to violence or hatred.
“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. “This is about much more than drawing a line on a map. This is about delivering a lifeline to the people of Gaza.”
In a later interview with Australia’s public broadcaster ABC, the prime minister revealed that he had personally spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but found him “in denial” about the human toll of the war. “He again reiterated to me what he has said publicly as well, which is to be in denial about the consequences that are occurring for innocent people,” Albanese said.
The announcements by Australia — and potentially soon New Zealand — underscore a widening rift between the US and some of its closest allies over how to respond to Israel’s protracted and devastating military campaign in Gaza. With diplomatic momentum building ahead of the September UN General Assembly, pressure is likely to mount on Washington to reassess its stance on Palestinian statehood.
‘This is starvation, pure and simple’
Canada and France have confirmed they will recognize a Palestinian state in September, coinciding with the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where world leaders will gather for high-level talks. The United Kingdom has also signaled it will follow suit — but only if Israel meets a set of conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.
The flurry of announcements from close Western allies has added to diplomatic pressure on Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a rare press conference with international media on Sunday to address the developments. In a defiant tone, Netanyahu condemned the recognition moves as “shameful.”
“To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole, just like that, fall right into it, and buy this canard is disappointing,” Netanyahu told reporters. “But it’s not going to change our position. We will not commit national suicide to get a good op-ed for two minutes.”
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong countered that continued inaction was untenable. “We cannot keep doing the same thing, and hoping for a different outcome. We can’t keep waiting for the end of a peace process that has ground to a halt,” she said. Wong framed Canberra’s decision as a deliberate attempt to “contribute to momentum towards two states,” insisting that such an outcome remains “the only prospect for peace.”
The diplomatic clash comes as conditions in Gaza worsen dramatically. On Friday, Israel announced plans to expand its military campaign with a full-scale takeover of Gaza City — a move that is expected to involve the forced evacuation of up to one million people from the surrounding area.
The announcement triggered swift condemnation from United Nations officials and members of the UN Security Council. Several warned that the operation would amount to “another calamity” and further violations of international law.
Ramesh Rajasingham, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva, issued one of the starkest warnings yet. “What is unfolding in Gaza is no longer a looming hunger crisis – this is starvation, pure and simple,” he told the Security Council.
The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) echoed that assessment last month, stating that the “worst-case scenario of famine” was now underway in Gaza — its most severe alert since the conflict began. According to health authorities in Gaza cited by Rajasingham, hunger-related deaths are mounting rapidly, particularly among children. Since October 2023, 98 children have died from severe acute malnutrition, including 37 since July 1 alone.
Global outrage over the humanitarian disaster has intensified. In recent weeks, large-scale protests have erupted in major cities across the world. In London, more than 460 people were arrested during a massive demonstration on Saturday, while in Sydney, an estimated 90,000 people — with organizers claiming closer to 300,000 — marched across the Harbour Bridge last week in one of Australia’s largest-ever political rallies. Further demonstrations are planned throughout the month.
For Australia, Canada, France, and potentially the UK, the decision to recognize a Palestinian state is being framed as a moral and strategic response to both the unrelenting violence in Gaza and the diplomatic stalemate that has plagued Middle East peace efforts for decades. But for Israel and its staunchest ally, the United States, these moves represent a dangerous precedent that could, in their view, reward terrorism and weaken security.
With the UN General Assembly just weeks away, the stage is set for an intense diplomatic showdown — one that will not only shape the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations but also test the unity of some of the world’s most enduring alliances.