Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shuts down idea of talking to Trump before making Palestinian statehood call
The Prime Minister has come under growing pressure to clarify Australia's stance after other world leaders signalled their intentions to formally recognise Palestinian statehood
Mr Albanese was pressed by the media pack at a press conference in Melbourne on Thursday about his looming decision on Palestine.
When asked if he would talk to Trump before his government made a call on recognition of a Palestinian state, the Prime Minister responded, "We're a sovereign government'.
'And Australia makes decisions on behalf of the Australian government,' he said.
Mr Albanese has been a longtime supporter of a two-state solution, and reiterated his hope to see Israelis and Palestinians living 'side-by-side in peace and security' on Thursday.
'And there are proposals obviously at the moment around and discussions taking place between world leaders. I think the entire international community is distressed by what we're seeing,' the Prime Minister told reporters.
Following the Prime Minister's remarks, Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie claimed Mr Albanese was 'paving the way' for Australia to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September.
'I think what the Prime Minister's doing is paving the way for what I think will be a really negative decision by Australia on the floor of the UN,' Ms McKenzie told Sky News on Thursday.
'It sounds like the Prime Minister's paving the way to recognise a Palestinian state prior to Hamas's surrender in the war in Gaza.
'Now we are all distressed, any compassionate human being is distressed by the footage that is coming out and the human suffering that's coming out of Gaza as a result of this war. The reality is, it is always civilians and the vulnerable that are the most negatively impacted in war.'
The Prime Minister's latest comments follow a phone call between him and French President Emmanuel Macron discussing the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The French President plans to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN in September and is set to be joined in the gesture by United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney announced last week that his country intends to recognise the state of Palestine next month.
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