Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a press conference to announce Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state, in Canberra, Aug. 11, 2025. (Hilary Wardhaugh\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
He said that his country\u2019s recognition of the \u201cindependent and sovereign State of Palestine\u201d reflects Australia\u2019s \u201clongstanding commitment to a two-state solution, which has always been the only path to enduring peace and security for the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples.\u201d<\/p>\n
Albanese stressed that \u201cthe terrorist organization Hamas must have no role in Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a video statement, said, \u201cToday, to revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution, I state clearly\u2014as prime minister of this great country\u2014that the United Kingdom formally recognizes the state of Palestine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the face of the growing horror in the Middle East, we are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and of a two-state solution. That means a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state\u2014at the moment we have neither,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Several other countries led by France plan to make similar announcements on Sunday and Monday.<\/p>\n
The Israeli Foreign Ministry categorically rejected the recognition of a Palestinian state by Commonwealth countries and called it a \u201creward\u201d for Hamas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis declaration does not promote peace, but on the contrary \u2013 further destabilizes the region and undermines the chances of achieving a peaceful solution in the future,\u201d the foreign ministry said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHamas leaders themselves openly admit: this recognition is a direct outcome, the \u2018fruit\u2019 for the October 7 massacre,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cDon\u2019t let jihadist ideology dictate your policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement notably stressed that the European-backed Palestinian Authority is \u201cpart of the problem and not part of the solution,\u201d citing its continued incitement to terror and ongoing years-old policy of payment for terrorists and their families known as \u2018pay for slay\u2019 which led the American administration to sanction the PA and bar their officials from entering the U.S. to attend the ongoing UN General Assembly in New York.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn any case, Israel will not accept any detached and imaginary text that attempts to force it to accept indefensible borders,\u201d the Israeli foreign ministry said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolitical gestures aimed at a domestic voting audience only harm the Middle East and are not helpful. Instead, if the countries that signed this declaration truly wish to stabilize the region, they should focus on pressuring Hamas to release the hostages and to disarm immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
The leader of the UK Conservative Party called the declarative move \u201cabsolutely disastrous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will all rue the day this decision was made,\u201d Kemi Badenoch wrote on X. \u201cRewarding terorism with no conditions put in place for Hamas. It leaves hostages languishing in Gaza and does nothing to stop the suffering of innocent people caught in this war.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would propose the immediate annexation of the biblical heartland in response to the countries\u2019 recognition of a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recognition by the U.K., Canada and Australia of a \u2018Palestinian\u2019 state, as a prize for the murderous Nukhba terrorists, requires immediate countermeasures: the immediate application of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and the complete dismantling of the \u2018Palestinian\u2019 terror Authority,\u201d Ben-Gvir posted on X.<\/p>\n
The Nukhba Force is the elite Hamas unit that spearheaded the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.<\/p>\n
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