Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is being urged to help build “moral momentum” to recognise a Palestinian state and end starvation in Gaza.
The United Kingdom government released a statement overnight announcing it was prepared to join France in recognising Palestinian statehood in September.
Australia could increase that momentum to help innocent civilians caught up in Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, federal Labor MP Ed Husic said.
“There is a moral momentum now that we are all witnessing,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
“Australia can lend its great weight to that momentum in making the decision to recognise.”
Mr Husic, who was the first Muslim federal minister before being moved to the backbench after the May election, has led a caucus push to pressure the prime minister to recognise Palestine.
Mr Albanese has in recent days stepped up his criticism of Israel for denying food to Gazans, leading to what aid agencies say is a humanitarian crisis, with the UN saying on X “the worst-case scenario of famine is now unfolding in Gaza”.
On Tuesday, Mr Albanese said it was “beyond comprehension” that Israel could claim there was no starvation in Gaza.
But he would not commit to recognising Palestine while it remained under the de facto leadership of Hamas, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by Australia.
Mr Husic said he understood the prime minister’s position but said the government could still join the international push to recognise Gaza without legitimising Hamas.
“We can still maintain that we have conditions that we believe need to be satisfied, not the least of which is the build up of democratic institutions within the state of Palestine, the demilitarisation of Hamas, for example,” he said.
“But we can flag our preparedness to join with both France and the UK, to signal our commitment to recognise Palestine.”
Two more developments in the past 24 hours also added to the urgency for Australia to act, Mr Husic said.
Gaza’s health ministry says 60,000 people have been killed by Israel since October 7, while a number of Israeli human rights groups have called Israel’s offensive in Gaza a genocide.
Australia joined 14 other countries, including France, the UK and Canada in a statement backing the recognition of Palestine “as an essential step towards the two-state solution and invite all countries that have not done so to join this call”.
It comes ahead of a leader’s level meeting during the 80th United Nations General Assembly scheduled for September, where Palestinian statehood is set to be a major topic of discussion.
The statement, signed by the 15 foreign ministers, also condemned terrorist group Hamas for its attack against Israel on October 7, 2023 and called for the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire.
It also called for further humanitarian aid as people starve to death in Gaza as Israel chokes food and medical supplies entering the besieged strip to put pressure on Hamas.
The foreign ministers added they “express grave concern over the high number of civilian casualties and humanitarian situation in Gaza”.
They further welcomed reform within the Palestinian Authority, which Australia has said needs to undergo significant reform as part of the process for recognition and a two-state solution, because Hamas could play no role in governing the strip.
This included a commitment by the authority’s president to schooling reform and to hold elections within a year, as well as accepting the principle of a demilitarised Palestinian state.
Opposition frontbencher James Paterson would not say whether he thought a starvation crisis was occurring in Gaza but said reports of starvation were “certainly credible”.
“I’m not in a position to independently assess the evidence that’s coming out of Gaza. I’m not there on the ground,” he told ABC Radio National.
“While we can all observe the very serious humanitarian situation, we should be careful not to endorse claims that are made by Hamas.”
Israel says Hamas is to blame for food not getting into Gaza and contests Gazan health officials’ casualty figures.
