Australian govt under increasing pressure to recognise Palestine

Australian governments – whether Labor or Liberal – have long supported a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, but held off recognising Palestine on the basis that a Palestinian state must recognise Israel’s right to exist within secure borders.

There is increasing pressure for that position to change, as much for internal political advantage as for foreign policy considerations.

Internally, Muslim leaders are warning failure to recognise Palestine will cost Labor votes at the next election, the Greens are pushing for recognition, the defection of Senator Fatima Payman has added to the pressure, and a series of state Labor conferences have passed resolutions calling for recognition.

Externally, an increasing number of countries are choosing not to wait for a peaceful or viable Palestine to advance recognition. In April, nine new countries, among them Norway, Spain and Ireland, recognised Palestine bringing the number of countries that now recognise Palestine to 145.

On the other hand, most of Australia’s major allies including the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand do not recognise Palestine, and the fundamental reason Australia will not recognise Palestine – that it will not recognise Israel – has only been strengthened by the Hamas invasion.

This week, leaders of two of Australia’s largest Muslim organisations told the Sydney Morning Herald that as opposition leader, Anthony Albanese had told them that Labor would recognise Palestine as a “first term priority”.

In an online meeting held in the weeks leading up to the May 2022 election, Albanese stopped short of guaranteeing senior leaders from the Australian National Imams Council, the Islamic Council of Victoria and a handful of other organisations that recognition of Palestine would happen in the first term of his government. But a clear undertaking was given by the then-opposition leader, the Herald reported.

Since Labor was elected, several conditions have changed. The horrors of the October 7 attack and the uncertain fate of the hostages have added weight to the argument that Palestine cannot be recognised while there is a danger Hamas will be in charge. At the same time, the casualty rate in Gaza and the widespread protests in Australia and around the world have increased pressure to recognise Palestinian rights. Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have been targeted as complicit by protesters.

Internally, the Labor party has amped up its call for a Labor government to recognise Palestine with recent resolutions passed at NSW and ALP conferences. The ALP first passed a platform to recognise Palestine in 2021 but since gaining power last year, the Albanese government has shown no inclination to implement the policy.

In recent months, Wong has hardened her language on Israel. In a speech in April she said the international community was “now considering the question of Palestinian statehood as a way of building momentum towards a two-state solution”.

Wong specifically rejected the argument put by supporters of Israel that recognising Palestine would reward Hamas.

“Israel’s own security depends on a two-state solution. There is no long-term security for Israel unless it is recognised by the countries of its region,” she said, adding that recognising a Palestinian state would strengthen supporters of peace and undermine extremism.

Muslim leaders are now threatening that if Labor does not recognise Palestine, it will cost the party votes at the next election.

Last week, pro-Palestinian candidate Ziad Basyouny announced he will challenge Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke in the Sydney western suburbs seat of Watson at the next election. He cited Palestine among other issues, including cost of living, as a reason for his candidacy.

The Muslim Vote movement has foreshadowed other challenges to Labor in the wake of the defection of Senator Fatima Payman, who left Labor to become an independent after she crossed the floor to vote with the Greens on a motion to recognise Palestine.

The Prime Minister continues to maintain his commitment to recognition of a Palestinian state “as part of a peace process in support of a two-state solution and an enduring peace”.

He will face increasing pressure to fold to Muslim and pro-Palestine voters with no such caveats.

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