The Coalition strongly opposes the actions taken by the Albanese Government to extend diplomatic recognition to the State of Palestine. Recognition must come at the end of a peace process not during the conflict.
Palestine has no established borders and no effective government. The inconvenient truth for the Albanese Government is this recognition comes while hostages remain in tunnels under Gaza and while the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian people remain under the control of the listed terrorist organisation Hamas.
For decades, Labor and the Coalition were united in the pursuit of a Palestinian State through a two-state process that would assure the democratic rights of the Palestinian people and uphold the security of the State of Israel. Labor has abandoned this pathway, instead choosing to gift recognition with no such assurances in place.
The Albanese Government has extended recognition of Palestine ahead of any of the crucial conditions being in place. Hamas still holds Israeli hostages, seized during the terrorist raids of 7 October 2023. Hamas is still in power in Gaza and continues to attack Israel. The Palestinian people can see no hope of democratic self-governance while Hamas is in power.
Today the Albanese Government extends a hollow gesture of false hope to the Palestinian people. For the Israeli people, it extends a chilling act of concession to the Hamas terrorists who continue to seek their annihilation.
Hamas has long dreamed of this day of achieving Palestinian statehood on their brutal terms. When they attacked Israel in October of 2023 and captured hostages, they did so precisely to extort the world into giving them what they want. Today the Albanese Government is doing just that.
The Albanese Government will have little to no agency in being able to enact or enforce its list of conditions accompanying their recognition of statehood. Indeed the actions of the Albanese Government may prolong the conflict by strengthening Hamas’ credibility. This is why the Coalition has always maintained that recognition must come after crucial conditions being fulfilled, not before.
The Coalition opposes this decision and calls for it to be reversed. A responsible Australian government must deal with the world as it is, not as it would wish it to be and it should stand with our most important ally, the United States of America. We remain committed to the establishment and recognition of a Palestinian State through a peaceful two-state process that upholds Israel’s security and results in an economically viable, democratic Palestine where Hamas has no role in its future.
We are realistic that today is not the day for extending such recognition while Hamas continues to hold Israeli hostages, while it continues to preside over Palestinian territories, and while it continues to launch attacks against Israel.