AFP<\/em> reported.<\/p>\nThe premier said that Australia received guarantees from the Palestinian Authority, which rules parts of Judea and Samaria, that there would be \u201cno role for the terrorists of Hamas in any future Palestinian state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Canberra\u2019s announcement follows similar initiatives by the U.K., France and Canada to recognize \u201cPalestine,\u201d a move Hamas has hailed as \u201cthe fruits\u201d of its Oct. 7, 2023, mass slaughter of civilians in Israel.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a press conference hours earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters that \u201cthe Palestinians are not about creating a state\u2014they\u2019re about destroying a state.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt defies imagination or understanding how intelligent people around the world, including seasoned diplomats, government leaders and journalists fall for this absurdity,\u201d the prime minister continued.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu said that while Hamas terrorists seek to destroy the Jewish state through \u201cforcefully and direct military and terrorist moves,\u201d the P.A. is working to reduce Israel to \u201cindefensible boundaries\u201d at the United Nations and the International Criminal Court in The Hague.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe real reason that this conflict persists is not because of the absence of a Palestinian state, but the persistent Palestinian refusal to recognize a Jewish state in any in any boundary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have European countries and Australia march into that\u2014march into that rabbit hole just like that, fall right into it and buy this this canard\u2014is disappointing and I think it\u2019s it\u2019s actually shameful,\u201d Netanyahu said.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, accused Canberra of elevating \u201cthe position of Hamas, a group it acknowledges as a terrorist organization, while weakening the cause of those working to end violence and achieve genuine, lasting peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision \u201cundermines Israel\u2019s security, derails hostage negotiations and hands a victory to those who oppose coexistence,\u201d added the envoy, noting that Albanese\u2019s government previously set strict conditions for it to recognize a Palestinian state, including \u201crenouncing violence, freeing hostages and establishing credible, accountable governance.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, the Australian government has abandoned those conditions and proceeded with recognition for symbolic reasons rather than genuine progress toward peace,\u201d Maimon wrote in an X post.<\/p>\n
Following Albanese\u2019s announcement, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said his country would consider whether to do the same at the U.N. General Assembly annual debate.<\/p>\n
Peters added that Wellington\u2019s recognition of \u201cPalestine\u201d was a \u201cmatter of when, not if,\u201d though it was \u201cnot a straightforward, clear-cut issue.<\/p>\n
The administration of New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon would canvass the \u201cbroad range of strongly held views within our government, parliament and indeed New Zealand society\u201d before the issue of recognition would be brought to a Cabinet vote, Peters said.<\/p>\n
Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad<\/a> told Al Jazeera<\/em> on Aug. 2 that \u201cthe initiative by several countries to recognize a Palestinian state is one of the fruits of October 7,\u201d 2023, when the terrorist group invaded Israel, slaughtered some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and took 251 hostages.<\/p>\n\u201cWe proved that victory over Israel is not impossible, and our weapons are a symbol of Palestinian dignity,\u201d declared Hamad in the interview.<\/p>\n
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/a> revealed on Friday that talks to secure a hostages-for-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas broke down when France announced it would recognize a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n\u201cTalks with Hamas fell apart on the day [French President Emmanuel] Macron made the unilateral decision that he\u2019s going to recognize the Palestinian state. And then you have other people come forward, other countries say, \u2018Well, if there\u2019s not a ceasefire by September, we\u2019re [also] going to recognize a Palestinian state,’\u201d Rubio revealed in an interview.<\/p>\n
Rubio noted that as a consequence, Hamas concluded, \u201clet\u2019s not do a ceasefire because we can be rewarded. We can claim it as a victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo those messages [about statehood] \u2026 actually have made it harder to get peace and harder to achieve a deal with Hamas,\u201d the secretary said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Anthony-Albanese-Portrait-1320x880-2.jpg\")