What Australia's shift on Palestinian state means for politics and alliances across the Asia-Pacific region
However, Australia's decision goes against many of its Pacific neighbours to the east, who tend to align themselves with the US and Israel because of aid, development, and religion.
So how will this decision affect Australia's regional relationships, and will it encourage countries who have yet to recognise a Palestinian state to follow suit?
The news of Australia's decision was welcomed by the Indonesian government, which called the shifted stance on Palestine "courageous".
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei have recognised Palestinian statehood since its Declaration of Independence in 1988.
A year later, the Philippines did the same.
But South-East Asia has never been entirely united on the issue.
"There are already some divisions within the bloc regarding Palestine, with countries like Myanmar and Laos being less vocal, while Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines are strong supporters," said Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat from the Centre of Economic and Law Studies in Jakarta.
One of the strongest advocates for Palestinian statehood is Malaysia.
It has refused to have any diplomatic relations with Israel and has prohibited people travelling on Israeli passports from entering Malaysia, said Mary Ainslie from the University of Nottingham.
After Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was reported to have spoken to one of the leaders of Hamas.
"Its leaders have strong ties to Hamas, for which they have come under much international criticism," Dr Ainslie told the ABC.
Dr Rakhmat said countries like Vietnam and Cambodia, while perhaps not as vocal, have also formally recognised Palestine.
"Thailand, on the other hand, has historically maintained a more neutral stance, but its recognition of Palestine in the past indicates some level of support," Dr Rakhmat said.
Dr Rakhmat said that South-East Asia's early collective recognition of Palestine was based on the principles of "anti-colonialism and human rights".
However, South-East Asian countries have been careful not to heavily criticise Israel as they did not want scrutiny of their own human rights records, Dr Ainslie said.
She said they were less likely to take an "active" stance supporting the Palestinian cause because of strong but hidden economic links with Israel and their technology.
"The practice of non-interference by these nations has served them well and disrupting this would potentially destabilise relations."
Dr Rakhmat said Australia's recognition of a Palestinian state could strengthen solidarity among ASEAN countries or strain relations, depending on each country's national interests regarding Palestine.
Other countries including Japan, South Korean, and Singapore have expressed support but are yet to recognise Palestinian statehood.
Experts who have spoken to the ABC agreed it was unlikely Australia's decision to recognise the state of Palestine would change any other nation's position.
Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, and Tonga do not recognise Palestinian statehood.
Many of these counties also traditionally rely on the US for foreign aid and security.
Further indication of the Pacific's strong ties to the US and Israel came during the United Nation General Assembly in June, when six Pacific nations joined the US and Israel to vote against a permanent and immediate ceasefire between Israel and Gaza.
Professor Derek McDougall from the University of Melbourne's school of social and political sciences said religion played an important factor in Pacific politics.
He said even though countries like Fiji had a majority Indigenous population — a demographic that often supported the Palestinian cause — it did not necessarily mean they were sympathetic to Palestinians because many Indigenous Fijians were also evangelical Christians.
"In the US it's the evangelical Christians, perhaps even more than the Jews, that provide significant political support for Israel," he said.
Although Australia has taken an opposing position to many Pacific nations, Sione Tekiteki a lawyer, and senior law lecturer at the Auckland University of Technology said it would not "significantly damage" its relationships with its Pacific Island neighbours.
"The region's long standing 'friends to all' foreign policy posture means that Pacific states rarely let partners' positions on distant conflicts determine the overall ambit of their bilateral and regional relationship," Dr Tekiteki said.
He said Australia would remain a key partner across the Pacific because of the substantial aid and development it provided.
Both Dr Tekiteki and Professor McDougall believed that the credibility of Australia's climate commitments along with its posture toward China and wider regional security environment will carry far greater weight in shaping Pacific perceptions than its stance on Palestine.
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ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
Australia's commitment to recognise Palestine met with 'disappointment and disgust' by Trump administration
The US ambassador to Israel says the Australian government's decision to recognise Palestine was met with disgust by senior members of the Trump administration. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee told 7.30 he discussed Australia's decision with US President Donald Trump. "There's an enormous level of disappointment and some disgust," Ambassador Huckabee said. "I don't know that the president used that word, [but] I would say that is a characterisation of a sentiment. Ambassador Huckabee also said Australia's timing was "terrible". "I think the timing has been very hurtful to any prospects of negotiating some settlement in Gaza with Hamas … this is a gift to them, and it's unfortunate," he said. The ambassador continued his critique of the Albanese government's decision, saying it would have a direct impact on the remaining hostages of Hamas. "For this to come at a time like this, further endangering them and endangering any hopes of some peaceful resolution of dealing with Hamas and getting them to lay down their arms," he said. Australia followed similar commitments to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, that were made by France, Canada and the UK. "As Israel's closest partner, we would have expected that there would have been some heads up," he said. On 7.30 this week, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she had spoken to the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the government's intentions. "As a matter of courtesy, I did want to give him advance notice of our announcement," Ms Wong said. Earlier in the week, Minister Wong warned there would be "no Palestine left" to recognise if the world did not act. Asked about Senator Wong's comments, Mr Huckabee claimed Australia's decision could inadvertently push Israel towards annexation of the West Bank. However, in July, the Israeli Knesset passed a non-binding motion calling for the annexation of the West Bank. On Thursday, multiple outlets reported that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened an expansion of settlements outside Jerusalem. "Those who try to recognise a Palestinian state will receive from us an answer on the ground … and ensure that by September the hypocritical leaders in Europe will have nothing to recognise," he said. Pressed on whether the Trump administration should have sought to influence Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct of the war in Gaza, the ambassador said: "I guess if we wanted to tell them what to do we would, but we respect the fact they were attacked on October 7." On Wednesday, the total number of hunger-related deaths since the war began in October 2023 rose to 235, among them 106 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Asked about Mr Trump's recent comments expressing discomfort at images of malnourished children, Mr Huckabee said Mr Trump had done "more than anyone else" to stop starvation. "He was the one who authorised us to create the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to start feeding people … get food to people who are hungry to give it to them in a way where Hamas cannot steal it," he said Since the GHF has been operating in Gaza, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid, according to the UN. The UN also says 500,000 people are facing famine and every child under five is at risk of acute malnutrition. Watch 7.30, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV Do you know more about this story? Get in touch with 7.30 here.
ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
What is the US response to Australia committing to recognition of a Palestinian state?
SARAH FERGUSON, PRESENTER: Mike Huckabee was appointed by President Donald Trump as the US ambassador to Israel earlier this year. He joins me now from Jerusalem. Ambassador Huckabee, welcome. MIKE HUCKABEE, US AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL: Thank you, Sarah, an honour to be with you. SARAH FERGUSON: What is the US response to Australia joining other key allies in committing to recognition of a Palestinian state? MIKE HUCKABEE: Well, the US is disappointed that nations like Australia, UK and others, have decided to pick this particular time to unilaterally recognise a second state. I think that the timing has been very hurtful to any prospects of negotiating some settlement in Gaza with Hamas. They basically walked away. This is a gift to them and it's unfortunate. And also, it is a violation of the agreement that was done in Oslo that any type of recognition of a Palestinian state would involve the Israelis. This clearly does not, and I would say that it is unfortunate, but it's also very disappointing to the United States. SARAH FERGUSON: I think it's worth pointing out that Prime Minister Netanyahu has said in the past that he was proud to have put the brakes on Oslo. But let me ask you a specific question, have you discussed this issue with Donald Trump, President Trump? MIKE HUCKABEE: Absolutely and we discussed it at State Department level with the Secretary. There is an enormous level of disappointment, and some disgust. You perhaps heard the Secretary Rubio's interview this past weekend and he made it very clear that the result of this has been to completely halt any type of thoughtful negotiations going forward, and it's just very terrible timing for this to come about. SARAH FERGUSON: Can you be precise? We have heard what Secretary Rubio said. What did President Trump specifically say about this decision? MIKE HUCKABEE: Well, I don't want to disclose personal conversations with the President, that wouldn't be appropriate for me to do. SARAH FERGUSON: Perhaps, ambassador, you could characterise them for us? MIKE HUCKABEE: I can characterise them as sharing what I just shared. That is disappointing and frustrating. Frustrating that there was no communication with the United States. As Israel's closest partner, we would have expected that there would have been some heads up. There wasn't. This was done unilaterally. That was a disappointment. In the case of the UK, the President had had an extensive visit with the Prime Minister in the UK and about an hour after the President left to go back to Washington, that's when this decision was announced. One would think that it would have been an appropriate topic of conversation while the two were sitting there together. SARAH FERGUSON: And just if I could come back, you used the word "disgust", that's a very strong term. Who expressed disgust? Was that the President? MIKE HUCKABEE: I don't know that the President used that word. I would say that it is a characterisation of the sentiment - whether or not that word was employed by anybody in particular other than me. I think that it does express, though, the emotional sentiment, a sense of, you've got to be kidding! Why would they be doing this? And why would they be doing it now? And why wouldn't they not be telling the United States, or telling Israel, for that matter. But to go out and make a public announcement like this - it was unseemly. SARAH FERGUSON: Let me just put to you some of the arguments that were made by the Australian Government in making this decision. They felt, for example, that they had no option than to recognise a Palestinian state before Israel annexed the West Bank and to use their words, there was no state left to recognise. What do you say to the Australian Government in relation to that? MIKE HUCKABEE: I would say what Australia and the other countries may have done inadvertently is to push Israel towards doing exactly what they're afraid of. SARAH FERGUSON: But just talk to me about the US. This is really a question as to whether or not the US is becoming isolated? Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that they had to do this because shortly, given what we've heard from the Israelis in relation to annexing the West Bank, there would be no state left to recognise. So how do you respond to that? MIKE HUCKABEE: Well, I would be very quick to tell you, I don't think that the United States feels isolated at all. You asked do we feel isolated? No, we don't. We're a sovereign country, so is Israel. So is Australia. Australia can do what it wants to do but we certainly don't have to agree with it. We don't have to like it. We don't have to pretend that it's okay, because in our view, it's not okay. And it was ill-timed, and I think, when hostages are being held, and tortured, not just held. They're not being fed. They're being forced to dig their own graves. We have seen the videos. And for this to come at a time like this, further endangering them, and endangering any hopes of some peaceful resolution of dealing with Hamas and getting them to lay down their arms. And Sarah, something that I think is very important to note, in the very week that the Australian Government, along with many others, were declaring publicly for a Palestinian state, you know who wasn't declaring for a Palestinian state? The Arab League. What they were calling for, that very week, was for Hamas to disarm and to let all of the hostages go. SARAH FERGUSON: I think that I just have to interrupt you there, ambassador, because it is clear that the Arab League has welcomed this recognition of a Palestinian state. But let's move on. Let me ask you a different question. MIKE HUCKABEE: They weren't calling for it last week, Sarah. They weren't calling for it last week. They were calling for Hamas to lay down their arms and surrender the hostages, and I think that it is an issue of timing. So I want to be very clear that, of course, they probably all support a second state, that they knew that there was a time and a place. Last week wasn't the time or the place. SARAH FERGUSON: Let me ask you this question. Do you take it as a starting point for any discussion on this conflict that the idea of a two-state solution is dead? MIKE HUCKABEE: The idea of a two-state solution is only alive if Israel and the Palestinian Authority can figure out a way to make it work. But as long as you have people chanting "From the river to the sea", as long as the Palestinian Authority continues to pay terrorists stipends for murdering Jews ... SARAH FERGUSON: I think to be clear, that Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, has committed to stop doing that. But please continue. MIKE HUCKABEE: No, actually, he hasn't, Sarah. He said in Arabic, that if there is only one penny left in the Treasury, that penny will go to the martyrs. So whatever he may say in one language to sound as if he's appeasing, the truth is that he has not given up on that policy. It is still going on today. SARAH FERGUSON: Let me ask you another question. This is really looking at the situation in Gaza, which was along with the question over the annexation of the West Bank was the other set of circumstances that the Australian Government described as motivating them in this decision. Why is the Trump administration apparently powerless in its ability to impact on the way Benjamin Netanyahu has conducted this war? MIKE HUCKABEE: Well, I don't know that it is the role of the United States to tell Israel how to prosecute a war. I want to remind you that there were 100 Americans who were held hostage, too. Two of them, who are deceased, their remains are still being held hostage. Some of them are out. Others have been killed, and we have their remains back. SARAH FERGUSON: Does not the United States' very large military aid, billions and billions of dollars to Israel, give you some leverage over how the war is conducted? MIKE HUCKABEE: I guess if we wanted to tell them what to do, we would but they're our partner. We respect the fact that they were attacked on October 7. They're not the attacking country. They were attacked country and there were 1,200 people... SARAH FERGUSON: Sure but the question here... MIKE HUCKABEE: No, Sarah, I'm going to stop you there. SARAH FERGUSON: Go ahead. MIKE HUCKABEE: Because I'm so tired of people blaming Israel for the fact that it is defending themselves against the monsters who raped women in front of their families, who mutilated their bodies, who burnt babies, who beheaded people, who burned elderly people in their wheelchairs, who took 250 people hostage - continued to torture them - many of them Holocaust survivors, many of them children and infants and somehow, we're supposed to blame Israel because it's trying to defend its country. No, I'm sorry, we're not going to tell them how to defend themselves. SARAH FERGUSON: As I have said many times on this program, the actions of Hamas are repulsive to all right-thinking people. This is a question however about the extended coverage of the war, not Israel's right to defend itself. Israel has dropped 100,000 tonnes of explosives on Gaza, a very small territory. That is more than the combined ordinance dropped on Hamburg, Dresden and the United Kingdom in the Second World War. That is the question. You cannot do that over a tiny space without mass casualty. So why doesn't the US have anything to say about the huge extent of civilian casualties in Gaza? MIKE HUCKABEE: We do. We have a lot to say about it. The first thing that we say is that Hamas should have surrendered on October the 8th. That would have ended the war and there wouldn't have been civilian casualties. The second thing that we say is that Hamas shouldn't do what it does routinely, which is put its civilians in front of targets that the Israelis announce in advance they're going to hit. I've got to be very clear to you. Not even the US military, and I think that we have one of the best and most ethical that have ever existed, but we don't announce in advance when we're going to hit a target, where we're going to hit and tell people to get out of it. Israel does that. They get no credit for that but Hamas on the other hand, they move their civilians right towards the target that Israel has announced, and then they threaten to shoot anyone who gets away from the target. So do they have a lot of civilian casualties? Yes, they do and a lot of the reason that they do is because Hamas makes sure that they have civilian casualties, because then, everybody can blame Israel for it. SARAH FERGUSON: I just note that you're not answering the question about Israel's conduct of the war. But let me ask you a different question about the war. MIKE HUCKABEE: No, I just did. I told you that Israel, I did announce that. I told you very clearly. SARAH FERGUSON: A partial answer, if I may, ambassador. A partial answer about warnings that are not universal. Let me ask you a different question. We all pay a lot of attention to your President. You are aware of that. We watched him express some disquiet, some upset over pictures of starving children in Gaza. When understand he doesn't like it. Why doesn't he make it stop? MIKE HUCKABEE: I think that the President has done more than anyone else I know to stop it. He was the one who authorised us to create the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, to start feeding people. He gave us two directives, Sarah. He gave us one, get food to people who are hungry. Two, give it to them in a way where Hamas cannot steal it or loot it and turn it into a commodity that they can sell, which they have been doing, to the tune of $500 million last year. So the President has been very clear what he wants to see done. I just wish people would recognise that the real reason for any deprivation in Gaza and starvation that may be happening is because Hamas has taken control of the food. This morning, I got the reports that of the UN food that goes in, as of this week, 91.5 per cent of food was stolen or looted. SARAH FERGUSON: We are running out of time but I am going to jump in there because I need to say something to the audience which is that since that organisation took over there, there has been a fundamental change in the way that aid is distributed inside Gaza. There are now only four centres. There were 400. There is only one crossing, one road in and more than 1,000 people have been killed while seeking that aid. But the issue here, I'm afraid here, is that we're running out of time. Ambassador Huckabee, I'm very grateful for the time that you've given us. Thank you for joining us. MIKE HUCKABEE: Thank you, Sarah. SARAH FERGUSON: Thank you.
SBS Australia
7 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Israeli minister announces controversial West Bank settlement project expansion
Israel's far-right finance minister has announced a contentious new settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which Palestinians and rights groups worry will scuttle plans for a future Palestinian state by effectively cutting the West Bank into two separate parts. "This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognise and no one to recognise," Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Thursday "Anyone in the world who tries today to recognise a Palestinian state — will receive an answer from us on the ground." Development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to pressure from the United States during previous administrations. On Thursday, Smotrich praised US President Donald Trump and US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee as "true friends of Israel as we have never had before". The E1 plan has not yet received its final approval, which is expected next week. It includes about 3,300 homes to expand the settlement of Maale Adumim, according to Peace Now, a group that tracks settlement activity in the West Bank. While some bureaucratic steps remain, if the process moves quickly, construction of homes could start in about a year. International community largely views West Bank settlements as illegal Most of the international community views Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and its military occupation over the region since 1967, as illegal. The United Nations considers these settlements illegal under international law, and the Geneva Convention states that an occupying power can't move its civilians to the territory it occupies. Israel denies that settlements are illegal under international law, as it considers the West Bank to be disputed territory, not occupied territory. Palestinians fear the settlement building in the West Bank — which has sharply intensified since the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that led to the Gaza war — will rob them of any chance to build a state of their own in the area. Settler violence has skyrocketed, from destruction of olive groves and cutting water and electricity in communities, to incendiary attacks on Christian holy sites. Earlier this year, Australia, alongside Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom, applied sanctions against Smotrich , as well as Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over their role in inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said at the time the pair had played a role in "serious human rights violations and abuses relating to Israeli settler violence in the West Bank". Wong said the two were "the most extreme proponents of the unlawful and violent settlement enterprise". Rights groups swiftly condemned the E1 plan. Peace Now called it "deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution" that was "guaranteeing many more years of bloodshed". There was no immediate statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or the broader government. Smotrich's popularity has fallen in recent months, with polls showing his party would not win a single seat if parliamentary elections were held today. The Palestinian foreign ministry called the new settlement plan an "extension of the crimes of genocide, displacement and annexation". Israel has long rejected accusations of genocide and rights abuses and said it is acting in its own defence. The announcement comes as the Palestinian Authority and Arab countries condemned Netanyahu's statement in an interview on Tuesday that he was "very" attached to the vision of a Greater Israel. He did not elaborate, but supporters of the idea believe that Israel should control not only the occupied West Bank but parts of Arab countries. About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognised by most countries, but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank. The UN and most world powers say settlement expansion has eroded the viability of a two-state solution by fragmenting Palestinian territory. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the area, and says the settlements provide strategic depth and security.
