Australia's opposition and the Zionist Federation of Australia argue that recognizing Palestinian statehood would be premature. They believe that recognition of a Palestinian nation could only come as part of a two-state solution brokered with Israel. However, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron hinted that the UK could also recognize Palestinian statehood without the support of Israel. The Australian government has voiced concerns about the war against Hamas in Gaza, including after an Australian aid worker was killed alongside six others in an Israeli air strike.
The international community is now considering the question of Palestinian statehood as a way of building momentum towards a two-state solution. Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said it did not support such a move and that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government was threatening to "break decades of bipartisan Australian foreign policy." Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said any talk of recognition of Palestinian statehood was "entirely premature" and that Hamas must be removed and a new generation of Palestinian leadership must emerge.
Ms. Wong said claims that recognition of a Palestinian state would be "rewarding the enemy" were "wrong". Israel's security depends on a two-state solution, and recognition of statehood would help undermine and marginalise Hamas. A two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians lived side by side in separate countries was "the only hope to break the endless cycle of violence." About 140 countries recognize Palestinian statehood, but many, including the US, the UK, Germany, and Australia, do not.