Palestinians respond with cautious optimism to new Australian Government

The ALP has a record of support for a Palestinian state but the Palestinian delegation in Canberra is not breaking out the champagne yet

Labor’s national conference recognised the "state of Palestine" in 2018, so Palestinian nationalists should be celebrating the party’s federal election victory.

But Izzat Abdul-Hadi, head of the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, responded with cautious optimism during an interview with The Jewish Independent, assessing that Labor in power will likely be different to Labor in opposition.

"We need to do some work to encourage Labor to meet its own commitments," Abdul-Hadi said.

"I'm a bit optimistic that there will be a different position towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but I don't think there will necessarily be a different position on recognition of the state,” he said.

The main reason, he said, is that new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to prioritise relations with the Biden administration, which can be expected to reject such a move. "I'm not sure they will take such a position without consultation with the US, even though their own conference adopted this position," Abdul-Hadi said.

Another constraint will be the presence of a "very strong voice that is pro-Israel" in Labor, exemplified by politicians such as Bill Shorten.

And recognising the "state of Palestine" may conflict with Albanese's strategy of moving towards the centre.

However, recalling Labor's stances when it was in power from 2007 to 2013, Abdul-Hadi expects a shift in favour of the Palestinians on human rights issues, UN voting and a rise in funding to non-governmental Palestinian recipients.