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‘Moral momentum’: Ed Husic says Australia should immediately join UK in preparing to recognise Palestinian state ‘Action, not slogans’: Albanese dismisses pressure from Labor MPs to toughen Israel stance
(about 11 hours later)
Labor MP says recognising statehood would deprive Hamas – ‘built largely on grievance’ – of power over Gaza and speed up peace process The prime minister resists demands for more sanctions as clamour grows to follow UK and France in recognising Palestine
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Labor MP Ed Husic says Australia should immediately join the UK in preparing to recognise Palestinian statehood, describing a tide of “moral momentum” that requires the Albanese government to reconsider its position on the war in Gaza. Anthony Albanese has criticised calls for further actions against Israel as “slogans” as he faces intensifying pressure from his own MPs, Labor members and the Greens to reconsider its position on the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will hold more talks with his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer, in coming days, but has stopped short of matching Starmer’s promise to recognise the state of Palestine in September unless Israel abides by a ceasefire and commits to a two-state solution. It comes as the Zionist Federation of Australia, a national Jewish organisation, reveals it is “deeply troubled” by the scenes in Gaza and has urged Israel to ensure sufficient aid flows to Palestinian civilians “without delay”.
Husic, an increasingly outspoken member of the Labor caucus, said recognising statehood would deprive terror group Hamas of its power over Gaza and ultimately speed up the peace process and the flow of urgently needed humanitarian aid. Ed Husic, Albanese’s former science minister and now a backbench Labor MP, has also urged Australia to immediately join the UK and France in preparing to recognise Palestinian statehood, describing it as a tide of “moral momentum”.
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“Hamas is built largely on grievance,” Husic said in the hours after Starmer’s announcement on Wednesday. On Wednesday, Australia joined 14 other countries to describe the recognition of Palestine as “an essential step towards the two-state solution”, linking progress on statehood to the upcoming United Nations general assembly meeting in September.
“That grievance gets removed with the establishment of a state of Palestine, nurtured with the cooperation and support of the international community, progressed through the development of democratic institutions.” The prime minister will hold more talks with his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer, in coming days, but stopped short of matching Starmer’s promise to recognise the state of Palestine in September unless Israel abides by a ceasefire and commits to a two-state solution.
The former minister has previously called for Australia to immediately follow the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in recognising statehood. He said colleagues on Labor’s backbench should speak up in favour of such a move.
“There is a deep feeling within the caucus, about how right it is to recognise Palestine, and I would much rather that colleagues speak for themselves.”
Australia has joined 14 other countries to describe the recognition of Palestine as “an essential step towards the two-state solution”, linking progress on statehood to the upcoming United Nations general assembly meeting in September.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, joined an international statement calling for a ceasefire in the conflict, while reiterating an “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognised borders”.
Canada, France, New Zealand, Norway and Spain were among a large group of signatories.
It came as the death toll from Israeli attacks in the war passed 60,000 people, according to Gaza health ministry figures, almost half of them women and children.
Albanese said he spoke with Starmer overnight and the pair would speak again in coming days. The government had previously signalled it would move in concert with close international partners.
“What I’ve said is that it’s not the timeline, that’s not what we’re looking at. What we’re looking at is the circumstances where recognition will advance the objective of the creation of two states,” Albanese said at Parliament House.“What I’ve said is that it’s not the timeline, that’s not what we’re looking at. What we’re looking at is the circumstances where recognition will advance the objective of the creation of two states,” Albanese said at Parliament House.
“I’ve said for a long time, my entire political life, I’ve said I support two states … that’s my objective. Not making a statement, not giving a political point, but achieving peace.”“I’ve said for a long time, my entire political life, I’ve said I support two states … that’s my objective. Not making a statement, not giving a political point, but achieving peace.”
Husic, an increasingly outspoken member of the Labor caucus, said recognising statehood would deprive terror group Hamas of its power over Gaza and ultimately speed up the peace process and the flow of urgently needed humanitarian aid.
“Hamas is built largely on grievance,” Husic said in the hours after Starmer’s announcement on Wednesday.
“That grievance gets removed with the establishment of a state of Palestine, nurtured with the cooperation and support of the international community, progressed through the development of democratic institutions.”
The opposition finance spokesperson, James Paterson, said the opposition still maintained Palestinian recognition should only occur at the end of a peace process, adding it would otherwise be “extremely counterproductive”.
“Premature recognition of a Palestinian state before Hamas has been dismantled, before the Palestinian Authority recognises Israel’s right to exist, before they give up their aims of using terrorism to abolish the Israeli state, I think, would be extremely counterproductive,” he told ABC radio.
Albanese this week accused Israel of a breach of international law in blocking aid into Gaza, saying “you can’t hold innocent people responsible” for the actions of Hamas, and warning that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is “losing support” internationally.
But he dismissed calls for further sanctions against the Netanyahu government as “slogans” compared to the federal government’s meaningful action so far.
In May, Australia joined with the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in placing financial sanctions and travel bans on two Israeli government ministers for “inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank”.
“What we are about is meaningful action, not slogans,” Albanese said in Canberra on Wednesday.
“We have, I think, taken appropriate action and it’s been, as I say, sanctioning ministers in a democratic government. If you can point to a comparison where that’s occurred, I’d be happy to hear it.”
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Albanese this week accused Israel of a breach of international law in blocking aid into Gaza, saying “you can’t hold innocent people responsible” for the actions of Hamas, and warning that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is “losing support” internationally. The Zionist Federation of Australia said it is the “collective moral obligation” of Israel and the United Nations to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in a statement contrasting with reported denials of starvation by the Israeli embassy in Australia.
Opposition frontbencher James Paterson stopped short of blaming Israel for starvation of the population in Gaza, saying only it was very clear “real suffering” was taking place. The group’s president, Jeremy Leibler, said “our humanity also compels us to recognise the pain and suffering of innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza. We are deeply troubled by the reports of hunger in parts of Gaza”.
“I’m not in a position to independently assess the evidence that’s coming out of Gaza,” he told ABC radio on Wednesday. The comments followed the sanctioning of Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi last week in the Senate after she held up a protest sign against Israel during the governor-general’s address.
“I’m not there on the ground, and I haven’t got the advice to independently assess it, and so I’m being cautious about this – because Hamas is a terrorist organisation who initiated this conflict on 7 October, who still hold 50 Israelis as hostages, and have consistently shown no regard for the lives of the Palestinian people, let alone the Israeli people.” The Greens moved a motion on Wednesday afternoon, supported by Labor, describing Israel’s blockade as illegal and at risk of causing “mass death from starvation”.
Senator David Shoebridge said Albanese’s criticisms that alternative approaches were just “slogans” was “deeply insulting”, adding sanctions against the Israeli government were necessary actions.
“As the prime minister himself acknowledged today, empty slogans without action will not feed starving children in Gaza,” Shoebridge said.
Support from within Labor’s rank-and-file for sanctions and Palestinian statehood continues to grow. The Victorian Labor state conference will debate a motion from rank-and-file members on the weekend urging further sanctions on Israel and the recognition of the state of Palestine.
Similarly-worded motions circulated by the Labor Friends of Palestine have also passed more than 80 local Labor branches in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, avoided criticising Israel. Asked directly if people in Gaza are facing starvation, Ley repeatedly said only that it was a “complex situation”.On Tuesday, the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, avoided criticising Israel. Asked directly if people in Gaza are facing starvation, Ley repeatedly said only that it was a “complex situation”.