Australia considers recognizing Palestinian state, says foreign minister

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Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday that Australia is seriously considering the possibility of officially recognizing a Palestinian state.

“Recognizing a Palestinian state – one that can only exist side by side with a secure Israel – doesn’t just offer the Palestinian people an opportunity to realize their aspirations,” Wong said. “It also strengthens the forces for peace and undermines extremism.”

She argued that rather than rewarding or legitimizing the Iran-backed terrorism that took place on Oct. 7, the international recognition of a Palestinian state in fact “undermines Hamas, Iran and Iran’s other destructive proxies in the region.”

“The international community is now considering the question of Palestinian statehood as a way of building momentum towards a two-state solution,” said the Australian foreign minister, and blasted the “Netanyahu government’s refusal to even engage on the question of a Palestinian state.”

As she noted, Australia is not the only nation publicly discussing this possibility. A number of other Western nations have indicated they may soon officially recognize a Palestinian state.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has made comments similar to Wong, as have leaders from Malta and Slovenia. The Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) of Ireland Micheál Martin went so far as to say that Ireland will certainly do so soon.

“It is my intention to bring to Government a formal proposal on recognition when these wider international discussions are complete,” Martin said on Tuesday. “But be in no doubt – recognition of a Palestinian State will happen.”

British Foreign Minister David Cameron, although less explicit in his remarks, said that “we should be starting to set out what a Palestinian state would look like, what it would comprise, how it would work and crucially, looking at the issue, that as that happens, we with allies will look at the issue of recognising a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations.”

The Times of Israel noted that while Sweden is the only EU nation to officially recognize a Palestinian state, it “had earlier been recognized by six other European countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania.”

In response to this growing movement among the leadership of Western nations calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state, Israeli leadership has said the move at this time would be a “reward for terrorism."

"The comments of the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, about recognizing a Palestinian state, as well as the joint statement by Spain, Malta, Slovenia and Ireland about their readiness to recognize a Palestinian state, constitute a reward for terrorism,” said Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lior Haiat last month.

"The recognition of a Palestinian state following the 7 October massacre sends a message to Hamas and the other Palestinian terrorist organizations that murderous terror attacks on Israelis will be reciprocated with political gestures to the Palestinians.”