Australia, France leaders discuss crisis in Gaza

Perth Now

4 hours ago

The leaders of Australia and France have made plans to meet at a United Nations gathering, where Palestinian statehood and the crisis in Gaza will be major issues.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Emmanuel Macron spoke overnight, almost two weeks after France announced its intention to recognise Palestine at the general assembly meeting in New York in September.
France was followed by Canada and the UK, which also stated their intentions, with conditions including the exit of Hamas from the Strip, the reform of the Palestinian Authority and demilitarisation of the state.
"The leaders spoke about the crisis in Gaza and their ongoing commitment to getting aid to civilians," according to a readout of the call between Mr Albanese and Mr Macron.
"Both leaders discussed their longstanding support for a two state solution.
"The leaders agreed to stay in close touch and meet again at the United Nations General Assembly in September."
More than 140 of the 193 UN member states already recognise the state of Palestine, including European Union members Spain and Ireland.
Mr Albanese has said recognition by Australia is a matter of "when, not if", but has been hesitant to set a timeline.
He's previously stated that any UN resolution would need to guarantee the designated terror group Hamas played no role in the future nation.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has revealed that Australia is working with other countries on the statehood issue to ensure its concerns are addressed.
"We understand the urgency, we also understand the importance of having impact, we are obviously discussing and co-ordinating these issues with many countries," she said on Tuesday.
"Everybody understands that there is a risk that there will be no Palestine left to recognise unless the international community work together towards two states.
"We want to ensure work with others to ensure that Hamas has no role in a future Palestinian state, and we do have a unique opportunity at this time with the international community to isolate Hamas."
Mr Albanese spoke with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday morning, when he reiterated Australia's commitment to a two-state solution in the Middle East that would allow Palestine and Israel to peacedfully co-exist.
The crisis in Gaza began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1200 people and taking about 250 more hostage.
Israel's retaliatory response has since killed more than 60,000 people, according to Gaza's health authorities.
Mr Albanese also stressed to Mr Abbas the need for the immediate delivery of aid to Gaza, a permanent ceasefire and the release of all Israeli hostages taken by Hamas.
Mr Abbas thanked Australia for its humanitarian support for Gaza and agreed to meet him on the sidelines of the UN meeting starting on September 9.
In late July, Mr Albanese had a call with his UK counterpart Keir Starmer about support for a two-state solution.
France was the first G7 group of major industrialised nations to announce it would recognise Palestine.
The G7 includes France, the US, the UK, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan.