3 days ago
Albanese backflips on Palestine state recognition after Abbas talks
No less a distinguished personage than president Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority has told Anthony Albanese that Australia can play an 'important role' in bringing peace to the Middle East.
It could be done if Canberra recognised a Palestine state, he told the Prime Minister last week. Sensing that greatness was calling, Albanese announced on Monday Australia will join the UK, Canada and France and declare accordingly at the UN General Assembly next month.
Only a fortnight before, Albanese told ABC's Insiders Australia would not recognise a Palestine state unless it 'operates in an appropriate way which does not threaten the existence of Israel' and Hamas was excluded 'from any involvement there'.
Did this leave open the possibility of his government recognising it at the UNGA in September, asked host David Speers.
'Are we about to do that? No, we are not,' Albanese replied.
But having just got off the blower with the PA president (his first conversation with him in nearly two years), Albanese has decided Abbas is a man who can deliver.
This is the same Abbas who in 1983 wrote the book The Other Side: The Secret Relationship Between Nazism and the Zionist Movement, which not only claimed Zionists colluded with the Nazis to make life unbearable for Jews in Europe, but also that the recorded number of deaths in the Holocaust was vastly exaggerated.
But Abbas has since walked back on some of these claims. He no longer denies the number of deaths. He merely claims, as he told the Fatah Revolutionary Council in 2023, the Nazi pogrom was not anti-Semitic but instead motivated by Jewish involvement in 'usury, money and so on'.
Now admittedly this latest take shows Abbas is yet to shed all his misconceptions as well as get across all the salient facts of the Holocaust. But nonetheless he is making real progress, no?
And while it is true Abbas's tenure as president has been a tad controversial, he has assured Albanese a Palestine state will be the paradigm of good governance. He promises demilitarisation, elections, financial transparency and an education system free of hateful ideology. He promises the PA will stop paying rewards to families of martyred terrorists. In summary, he promises things he never delivered as president, a role he has occupied for more than 20 years.
But despite that, Albanese will recognise without precondition a Palestine state. In fairness to him, he identifies with Abbas in at least one respect. 'My word is my bond', anyone?
Could this be the beginning of a wonderful partnership that brings peace to a troubled land and warring rivals? Albanese's diplomatic venture promises to be every bit as successful as that of former prime minister Malcolm Fraser's dalliance with Robert Mugabe, the great humanitarian Marxist, leader of ZANU-PF, and Zimbabwe's inaugural prime minister.
As with Fraser, Albanese has overlooked a couple of considerations in throwing his lot in with Abbas. Just minor things, mind you.
For starters, and as reported by this masthead, the latest survey (May 2025) by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research revealed only 15 per cent of respondents were satisfied with Abbas's performance. Additionally, respondent data showed support for Hamas is higher in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip than for Fatah.
And what of Albanese's claim on Tuesday that his government's recognising a Palestine state was 'the opposite of what Hamas wants'? The very next day Hamas co-founder Hassan Yousef praised the Albanese government for its 'political courage', saying the decision was an 'important step towards achieving justice for our people'.
Australia's move was 'largely meaningless', said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 'It's symbolic, and they're doing it primarily for one reason, and that is their internal politics, their domestic politics.'
That is a tactful way of saying Albanese is a grandstanding meddler. He deserves Rubio's disdain. This opportunistic blundering has emboldened Hamas and relegated the welfare of its Israeli hostages to secondary considerations. As for Albanese's stressing he did not act alone, collective tomfoolery is no excuse for incompetence.
But don't let my being a wet blanket stop you, Anthony Albanese. Tell us your plans for building Australia's relationship with a Palestine state.
Who will be our inaugural ambassador? My first thought was former NSW premier and foreign minister Bob Carr, who has done much to arouse anti-Israel sentiment with his bizarre diatribes. But, given his insistence on travelling first class and staying in top-notch accommodation, that could be problematic while Gaza is in its present state.
This is a time for nation-building, and for that Palestine needs essential workers. I refer to the 24 employees of the Australian Human Rights Commission who last year demanded then AHRC president Rosalind Croucher condemn 'Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank'.
Your plane awaits, people.
You can take with you those well-meaning individuals who make up the 'Queers for Palestine' movement. I am sure the members of Hamas will be most receptive to your suggestions for Gaza's first 'Wear it Purple Day'.
Ditto the activists comprising the Teachers and School Staff for Palestine who led children in chants of 'Allahu Akbar' outside Granville Boys High School in western Sydney in February. Your pedagogical expertise would ideally complement a Palestinian curriculum.
Getting a plane there may be difficult, but fear not. The Qantas flight attendants who proudly wear a Palestinian flag on their lapel would be delighted to assist. Come to think of it, wouldn't you lot be happier staffing the Palestinian national carrier?
But if there is one thing Gaza really needs, it is thespians. Think Harry Greenwood, Megan Wilding and Mabel Li, whose little keffiyeh stunt in 2023 on the opening night of Chekov's The Seagull nearly bankrupted the Sydney Theatre Company.
As we speak, a Palestinian playwright pens a masterpiece inspired by your brave and noble efforts. Coming to a Gaza theatre soon: The Peacock, the Goose and the Galah. Read related topics: Anthony Albanese
The Mocker amuses himself by calling out poseurs, sneering social commentators, and po-faced officials. He is deeply suspicious of those who seek increased regulation of speech and behaviour. Believing that journalism is dominated by idealists and activists, he likes to provide a realist's perspective of politics and current affairs. Nation
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