Australia also wants to recognize the state of Palestine

The recognition is to be formally announced at the United Nations General Assembly in September. "We have made it clear that we will recognize Palestine when this will best contribute to peace," said Foreign Minister Penny Wong. The time for this is in September.

Israeli President Izchak Herzog condemned the announcements by Australia and other countries. They would reward terror and favor the enemies of freedom, liberty and democracy, he said, according to a spokesman. "This is a grave and dangerous mistake that will not help a single Palestinian and sadly will not bring back a single hostage," he added.

Albanese had only said at the weekend that it was only a matter of time before Australia would recognize a Palestinian state - raising expectations that such an announcement could be imminent. The decision was part of "a coordinated global effort" to promote a two-state solution, Albanese emphasized. The term "two-state solution" refers to Israel and an independent Palestinian state existing peacefully side by side.

Albanese said that he had spoken about this in advance with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. He also discussed the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, on Thursday last week.

Israel condemns decision

Macron had already announced at the end of July that he wanted to officially announce the recognition of Palestine at the UN General Assembly. Canada followed suit a few days later. Great Britain also recently openly threatened Israel with recognizing Palestine if Netanyahu's government did not end the Gaza war and the suffering of the Palestinians. Almost 150 of the 193 member states of the United Nations have already recognized Palestine as a state.

Netanyahu recently described the imminent announcement from Australia and the decisions of the other countries as "shameful" and emphasized: "Today, the majority of the Jewish public is firmly against the Palestinian state for the simple reason that they know it will not bring peace. It will bring war."

Meanwhile, New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced that the Pacific state was also considering recognizing Palestine and that this had been discussed in cabinet. However, the decision will not be made public until September.