Starmer's linking ceasefire to statehood is risky business
However, in a joint statement with 14 countries, Australia on Wednesday demanded a ceasefire, reiterated an 'unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution' and condemned Hamas' attacks while welcoming a series of commitments by the Palestinian Authority which could pave the way to recognition.
It followed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's sharp policy shift announcing the UK would recognise a Palestinian state next September at the United Nations unless Israel moved to secure a ceasefire, increase aid and agreed not to annex the occupied West Bank, adding that Hamas must release hostages, sign up to a ceasefire and accept it will have no role in governing Gaza.
Starmer's caveats are well-intentioned bids to give Israel an incentive to act and are part of a broader European effort to end the almost two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas. The British move is also symbolically significant, given Whitehall played a central role in the creation of the state of Israel in 1917 when it supported a national home for the Jewish people in what was then Palestine.
But using threats against Israel and conflating the two-state solution with a ceasefire risks muddying an already dirty conflict while boosting the aspirations of a terrorist group and further hardening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's resolve. 'Starmer rewards Hamas' monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims,' Netanyahu immediately posted on social media.
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The British change of heart illustrates how quickly sentiment about the war has changed across the world since October 2023, when global sympathy went out to Israel. But it has clearly leached away since, and in recent days footage of children dying from starvation, reports of famine in Gaza and the UN confirming 60,000 Gazans had now been killed in the war have crystallised opposition to the war. Israel maintains starvation has not occurred in Gaza, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Starmer and US President Donald Trump have publicly begged to differ.
Through pugnacious intransigence, Israel has allowed war in Gaza to drag on without resolution and handed the higher moral ground, not to Hamas, but rather the people of Palestine. Ironically, in doing so it has given the notion of Palestinian statehood a huge leg up.
The other alternative, the Netanyahu- endorsed proposal by Trump to relocate Palestinians from Gaza and turn the war-ravaged coastal enclave into a luxury waterfront development, is a transactional fantasy that has only garnered international condemnation and raised concerns about the flood of refugees flowing from such a brutal real estate deal.
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The conference falls on the same weekend as the Garma Festival in the Northern Territory's remote northeast Arnhem Land. Mr Albanese is expected to attend the four-day event, with another senior leader to instead give the federal address to the state Labor faithful. With issues mounting after a decade in power, the Victorian Labor brand was viewed as a drag on the Albanese government's hopes for re-election in the lead-up to the May 3 poll. Labor ultimately retained all of its Victorian seats and added MPs for Deakin, Menzies and Melbourne to its ballooning lower-house benches in Canberra. Tensions within the Labor movement over policies on the Middle East loom over a key party love-in, as focus turns to preparing for Australia's next state election. A handful of members staged a silent protest against Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles at the Victorian party's conference on Saturday, holding up images of Palestinian flags on their devices. 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The 2024 security breach led to the conference floor being locked down and delayed speeches by Mr Albanese and Ms Allan, who has warned people not to bring their "extremist behaviour" to the 2025 conference. "If they want to join the Labor party and be part of the debate and discussion inside the room, that's how you make a difference," she said. A Victoria Police spokesperson said the force was prepared for protest action and ready to respond. The conference falls on the same weekend as the Garma Festival in the Northern Territory's remote northeast Arnhem Land. Mr Albanese is expected to attend the four-day event, with another senior leader to instead give the federal address to the state Labor faithful. With issues mounting after a decade in power, the Victorian Labor brand was viewed as a drag on the Albanese government's hopes for re-election in the lead-up to the May 3 poll. Labor ultimately retained all of its Victorian seats and added MPs for Deakin, Menzies and Melbourne to its ballooning lower-house benches in Canberra.
