Australia signs bombshell Gaza statement
Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Wednesday joined counterparts from 14 countries, including France and New Zealand, in issuing a joint statement calling Palestinian statehood 'an essential step' toward a two-state solution – the internationally adopted answer for a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been urged not to recognise a Palestinian state. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia
Noting the 80th UNGA meeting coming up in September, the foreign ministers said they 'have already recognised, have expressed or express the willingness or the positive consideration of our countries to recognise the State of Palestine as an essential step towards the two-state solution and invite all countries that have not done so to join this call'.
They also urged countries that had not established 'normal relations with Israel' to do so and 'to express their willingness to enter into discussions on the regional integration of the State of Israel'.
The statement comes after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK would recognise a Palestinian state at the UNGA meeting unless Israel takes 'substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza'.
The Coalition has urged Anthony Albanese not to follow his UK counterpart.
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Sydney Morning Herald
7 minutes ago
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Who marched next to Julian Assange, Craig Foster and Mehreen Faruqi at the pro-Palestinian protest?
Footballers, politicians, human rights activists and more were among the estimated 90,000 people who united in Sydney on Sunday, making history in the pelting rain to protest the Israeli government's actions in Gaza. The Harbour Bridge was closed for five hours as the crowd, led in part by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, former Socceroo Craig Foster and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, marched from Lang Park to North Sydney, calling for sanctions against Israel and the free flow of aid to starving Palestinians in Gaza. On Monday morning, retired Australian footballer and lifelong human rights activist Foster issued a celebratory message to those who marched on Sunday. 'I thank and congratulate all who yesterday showed the immense strength of the Australian conscience and urge everyone to join together as a powerful, collective force against all hatred, violence and racism, for equal rights for all, and for Australia as a consistent and powerful actor for a just and peaceful world,' Foster wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Foster, Assange and Moore were joined on the Harbour Bridge by six state Labor MPs – Julia Finn, Sarah Kaine, Stephen Lawrence, Anthony D'Adam, Cameron Murphy and Lynda Voltz – who defied Minns by attending, plus crossbenchers including Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi. Other high-profilers in attendance included journalist Antoinette Lattouf, actor Meyne Wyatt, and model Luisa Dunn. Loading Lattouf described her presence in the front row as a 'heavy-hearted honour', writing on X on Sunday evening alongside a photo of her section: 'People power. I had the heavy hearted honour of helping lead the march – flanked by defenders of press freedom, Palestinian human rights leaders, unionists, academics, and politicians from across the spectrum defending Palestinian human rights and against genocide.' Former Labor premier and ex-minister for foreign affairs Bob Carr was also in attendance, as was former Greens candidate for Grayndler Hannah Thomas, who is recovering from an injury inflicted by police during a protest in June. She wore an eye patch with the colours of the Palestinian flag.
The Age
7 minutes ago
- The Age
Who marched next to Julian Assange, Craig Foster and Mehreen Faruqi at the pro-Palestinian protest?
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AU Financial Review
37 minutes ago
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‘We're a sovereign nation': PM unfazed at upsetting US over Palestine
Anthony Albanese has shrugged off concerns it could anger the Trump administration if Australia formally recognises Palestine as a state, while party sources said Labor would erupt internally if the prime minister did not follow through with the move. With the government heading towards joining other like-minded nations such as the United Kingdom and Canada in recognising Palestinian sovereignty, Albanese said being at odds with the United States was not a factor being considered.
