Australia to Recognize Palestine in September: Premier Albanese

Australia will formally recognize Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday.

Albanese told reporters that the Palestinian Authority has given commitments to disarm, recognize Israel and exclude Hamas from any future governance of Palestine, Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Media reported earlier that Canberra was considering announcing a timeline to recognize Palestine but the Cabinet signed off on the plan shortly afterwards.

Asked whether the announcement could further embolden Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to continue its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, Albanese said he expressed his concerns with Netanyahu about Israel’s military action in Gaza.

“I think that I expressed it in a very clear way. But the prime minister’s comments were similar to what he had made a year ago, which is that they were determined to remove Hamas,” he said.

France has announced its intention to recognize Palestine at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York in September, while the UK has moved to support the recognition of Palestine if Israel fails to meet a set of conditions.