Albanese talking to Starmer about recognising Palestine but says it will depend on advancing ‘two states'
The Prime Minister's comments followed a statement overnight from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that the UK would recognise Palestine in September if Israel did not make significant progress in ending in the war in Gaza.
The Prime Minister said he had spoken with Sir Keir overnight and would continue that conversation over the next few days but did not directly answer a question about whether the UK's decision would influence his thinking.
'I've said for a long time, my entire political life, I've said I support two states, the right of Israel to exist in secure borders, and the right of Palestinians to have their legitimate aspirations for their own state,' he said.
'That's my objective, not making a statement, not winning a political point, but achieving that. That's very much my focus.'
World leaders were continuing to engage with each other 'both informally and formally' on the situation, Mr Albanese said.
The world had been 'horrified by the terrorist act and atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7' and the world 'looks at what is happening in Gaza and expresses that it is unjustified and that it is a tragedy that (there is) ongoing loss of innocent life, the ongoing impact of the decisions to restrict aid,' he said.
There was growing opposition to Israel's actions, Mr Albanese added. 'People who are friends of Israel have to be able to say what you are doing is losing support.'
Earlier on Wednesday, the Government announced it had signed up to a new multinational statement on the Israel-Palestine conflict calling for an 'immediate ceasefire' in Gaza, joining foreign ministers from countries that had already recognised or expressed a willingness to recognise the State of Palestine.
This was 'an essential step towards the two-State solution', it said, urging all countries that had not done so to join this call.
It also called on countries who had not done so to 'establish normal relations with Israel, and to express their willingness to enter into discussions on the regional integration of the State of Israel.'
The statement, signed by 15 nations including Canada, France and New Zealand, also demands 'the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages of Hamas, including the remains, as well as ensuring unhindered humanitarian access', to the strip.
It expressed 'grave concern over the high number of civilian casualties and humanitarian situation in Gaza' as well as stressing 'the essential role of the United Nations and its agencies in facilitating humanitarian assistance.'
Mr Albanese also highlighted the statement's recognition of the Palestinian Authority's condemnation of the October 7 terrorist attacks and its call for the liberation of hostages and the disarmament of Hamas alongside a commitment to schooling reform and triggering an election within a year.
'Clearly one of the things that the Palestinian Authority have said is to speak about a demilitarised Palestinian state. What that implies is not just no military in the conventional sense but also obviously no paramilitary,' he said.
'Sometimes out of a crisis comes a moment of opportunity to actually advance forward, in a real way, advance forward for Israelis and Palestinians,' added the Prime Minister.
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