The Australian Government announced it formally recognises Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly in September. 

It joins a coalition of nations including France, Canada and the United Kingdom in doing so.

As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in August: “Australia will recognise the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own, predicated on the commitments that Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority.”

These commitments, which include demilitarisation, election and education reforms, are supported by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as well as the Arab League, a regional organisation made up of 22 member states within the Middle East and North Africa.

Albanese also said he had a "long discussion" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day before Israel announced its intentions for a full-scale military takeover in Gaza.

During the phone call, Albanese reiterated Australia’s support for an immediate ceasefire and the full removal of Hamas, but expressed concern when Netanyahu "foreshadowed" Israel’s military intentions.

Before the security cabinet meeting that voted in favour of full militarisation, Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News that the plan would “ensure” Israel’s security, by removing Hamas in power and “pass it to civilian governance.”

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong said that Israel’s plans are harmful to the prospect of a possible ceasefire. 

“The Israeli security cabinet's decision to launch a large-scale offensive into Gaza, is counter to the prospect of a ceasefire,” Wong said.

The changing tide in Western democracies to formally recognise Palestinian statehood has been one of the strongest stances yet taken by world leaders.

It comes after numerous warnings by the United Nations and the Palestinian Health Ministry with reports of extreme starvation, life-threatening malnourishment and mass displacement in Gaza.

Since October 7, 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry has reported that  60,000 Gazans have died and, with aid being blocked into Gaza, hundreds more including children are on the brink of intense hunger-related deaths.

“Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel’s denial of aid and the killing of civilians, including children, seeking access to water and food cannot be defended or ignored,” Albanese said in a statement in July.

In the same statement, the Prime Minister condemned Hamas and called for both a ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages.

As of June, 20 remaining hostages were estimated to still be alive.

What is recognition and why is it important?

Professor Shahram Akbarzadeh, Director of the Middle East Forum at Deakin University, says that the main purpose of Western recognition of Palestinian statehood is to increase diplomatic pressure on the United States to further urge Israel towards a ceasefire agreement. 

“It’s a symptomatic tool to exert pressure on the United States, because at the end of the day, without the US agreeing that there should be a State of Palestine, we will never get there,” Akbarzadeh said.

The relationship between the US and Israel has spanned decades, and under President Trump, Washington has rallied behind its ally, backing many of Netanyahu’s decisions on the Gaza strip.

Dr Benjamin MacQueen, a senior lecturer at Monash University who specialises in Middle East studies, says that international recognition of a statehood holds both functional and potentially legal significance, as well as symbolic value. 

These implications extend to “international recognition” and the acknowledgement of “ownership and sovereignty over that territory”.

MacQueen says that while the immediate consequences of international recognition of a Palestinian statehood wouldn’t directly alleviate the humanitarian crisis occurring in Gaza, it’s still a “meaningful step” in addressing an independent Palestine free from Israeli military occupation.

“What [recognition] does is it recalibrates debate … [and] say to Israel that it is now in an illegal occupation of the territory of another country,” he said.

“Recognition is absolutely essential for the reconstruction of Gaza, the reconstruction of the West Bank and for the ending of the occupation.” 

Why was Australia hesitant? 

Akbarzadeh believes Canberra’s earlier hesitation on the matter followed numerous factors, including its relationship and long-term alliance with both the US and Israel.

“Australia had been anxious that if it recognised Palestine, the alliance with the United States would be in jeopardy, that Trump would react badly, and that this would undermine Australia's economic interests,” he said.

Although economic repercussions from the US are possible, MacQueen says a multilateral agreement among some of the US’s biggest allies would send a strong message to the US about the change in diplomatic opinion and would cushion potential backlash from Washington and Israel.

“Recognition would be Australia acting in concert with Canada, France, potentially Great Britain and a number of other countries,” he said.

“Therefore if the United States were to react with some sort of economic ramification for recognition, there would be some impact, but the sustainability of it for the US would be difficult.” 

The Prime Minister had similar remarks in the press conference, as he highlighted Australia’s diplomatic standing with other allies.

“This is not Australia acting alone; a range of countries are engaging in detailed dialogue,” he said. 

Can the two-state solution work? 

Albanese has been a long-time advocate for the two-state solution and reiterated this in his announcement speech.

“A two-state solution is humanity’s best hope to break the cycle of the violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the suffering and starvation in Gaza,” he said. 

MacQueen and Akbarzadeh agree that the two-state solution is still attainable, and that international recognition of an independent Palestine is crucial to these endeavours. 

“An independent state of Palestine would have a massive job ahead of it, in terms of reconstruction, civic and political development, managing its own issues and militancy and internal division,” MacQueen said.

“But it can only have that chance if the occupation ends.”

Akbarzadeh is also optimistic that with continued international pressure, specifically from the United States, a two-state solution will come to fruition, but the formation and structure of what an independent Palestine would look like is still uncertain.

“International momentum is in favour of a future of a Palestinian state,” he said.

“To what extent is that state going to be functional and democratic? That is a big question… but we’ll have some kind of entity.”