3 days ago
Map shows Australia's new place in the world after bold call on Palestine
A striking map shows Australia's new place in the world after Anthony Albanese made the call to join nearly 150 countries in recognising Palestinian statehood.
Australia will formally recognise Palestine when the United Nations General Assembly meets in New York next month. The move is seen as symbolic because Palestinians are living under military occupation and do not have control over their territory or settled borders.
The country will join a majority of UN member states – 147 out of 193 – which already recognise Palestine, including most countries in Asia, South America and Africa.
In all, those nations make up 75 per cent of the countries in the world.
Historically, Western countries have held back from recognising Palestine – but reports of a new Israeli military push in Gaza and famine among Palestinians, coupled with domestic pressure on leaders like Mr Albanese, have resulted in a surge of support.
It began when France announced it would recognise Palestine at the UN meeting – the first G7 country to do so. The UK, Canada, and now Australia have followed suit.
But there remain some key holdouts.
The United States, Israel's biggest ally, does not recognise Palestine and has vetoed past attempts by the Palestinian Authority to join the UN, arguing statehood should come about through negotiations with Israel.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week blasted the gesture by Australia and other Western countries as 'largely meaningless'.
'It's symbolic, and they're doing it primarily for one reason, and that is their internal politics, their domestic politics,' Mr Rubio said.
'The truth of the matter is that the future of that region is not going to be decided by some UN resolution.
'It's not going to be decided by some press release by a prime minister or a president from some country. It's going to be decided on the ground.'
Mr Albanese's announcement on Monday was welcomed by some, but it has also received criticism from both sides of the current conflict.
Jewish leaders argue it lends legitimacy to terrorist group Hamas, while pro-Palestinian voices claim it does not go far enough and Australia should cut all ties with Israel.
Middle East analyst Professor Amin Saikal said the recognition of Palestine 'in itself is not necessarily going to make much of a difference on the ground, because the Palestinian territories are still occupied'.
'It is a symbolic act, basically to send a very, very strong message to the Israeli leadership,' Professor Saikal told
'There are ways of enforcing the recognition of the state of Palestine with some practical measures, otherwise it will remain hollow.'
The practical steps might include boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel.
Prof Saikal said public opinion was increasingly siding with Palestinians in the conflict.
'Now I think it is very widely recognised what Israel is engaging in is a genocide – this is not just journalists or politicians saying it, it's been confirmed by two humanitarian organisations within Israel,' he said.
'(Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu has remained completely defiant of calls for a ceasefire and more humanitarian aid in Gaza.'
He said as the conflict dragged on, pressure might build on Donald Trump to change his stance.
'Although Trump is absolutely committed to Israel and it's very unlikely he will cut off arms supply, at the same time public opinion is very much turning against Israel,' Prof Saikal said.
'With Trump his base is very important. If this sort of criticism increases, he may finally decide that look, it's no longer in the interests of the US to continue the level of support for Israel.'
Across the ditch, New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said this week that the government would make a decision on Palestinian statehood next month.
That places New Zealand in the diminishing group of countries that have yet to recognise Palestine, including G7 members Germany, Japan and Italy.
'This is an opportunity to deliver self-determination for the people of Palestine in a way that isolates Hamas, disarms it and drives it out of the region once and for all,' Mr Albanese said on Monday.
He said the decision was made after he received assurances from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that Hamas would play no role in any future state.
The Palestinian Authority controls parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas in 2007.
