Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Australia will recognise Palestine, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on August 11, 2025, joining the leaders of France, Britain and Canada in signalling they would do so.
His remarks followed weeks of urging from within his Cabinet and from many in Australia to recognise Palestine and amid growing criticism from officials in his government over suffering and starvation in Gaza. Australia’s government has also criticised plans announced in recent days by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu for a fresh, sweeping military offensive in Gaza. Mr. Albanese told reporters after a Cabinet meeting that Australia’s decision to recognise Palestine will be formalised at the United Nations General Assembly in September. The acknowledgement was “predicated on commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority,” Mr. Albanese said.
Those commitments included no role for Hamas in a Palestinian government, demilitarisation 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,” Mr. Albanese said. Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September, becoming the third G7 nation to make such an announcement.
Most countries – 147 of the UN’s 193 member states – formally recognise a Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority controls parts of the West Bank through the Fatah party, led by Abbas, while Hamas runs Gaza. Neither territory has held an election since 2006.
