‘Real hope for a place they call home’: Albanese’s plea to world leaders on Palestine

New York: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged world leaders to seize an opportunity to permanently disarm Hamas and drive the listed terrorist group out of the Middle East by reviving efforts to achieve a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Albanese addressed a conference on the two-state solution at the United Nations in New York on Tuesday morning (AEST), a day after Australia’s recognition of Palestine took formal effect alongside Canada’s and Britain’s.

In his speech to the two-state solution conference, Albanese said that the Arab League’s call for Hamas to end its rule in Gaza and lay down its weapons had created a “moment of opportunity” that the world must not let pass by.

“A chance to deliver self-determination for the people of Palestine in a way that permanently disarms and isolates Hamas – and drives them out of the region once and for all,” Albanese said.

“In recognising Palestine, Australia recognises the legitimate and long-held aspirations of the Palestinian people. That means more than a seat, a voice and a vote in the councils of the world. It means real hope for a place they call home.”

But Albanese’s announcement was undercut by Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who wrote to Republican legislators on Monday to assure them that Albanese’s move did not have bipartisan support because she said it would reward Hamas and was divorced from reality.

“Given the concerns raised, I write to reassure you, and the Congress, that this decision taken at this time by the Labor government does not enjoy bipartisan support here in Australia,” Ley wrote in her letter to Republicans, including former presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, senators Rick Scott and Tom Cotton, and Elise Stefanik, Trump’s original choice to serve as US ambassador to the UN.

Ley added: “The federal opposition opposes this decision and would reverse it, should we form government.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, who spearheaded the conference with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, announced that France would officially recognise Palestine as he pleaded with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza and back the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

“We are just a few moments away from no longer being able to seize peace,” Macron said in his speech, which received a standing ovation from some delegates.

“Some might say it’s too late; some might say it’s too late ... but one thing is certain: we can no longer wait.”

Macron thanked nations, including Australia, for answering his call to recognise Palestine as he called for the international community to create a “cycle for peace” instead of a cycle of violence.

The French leader called for Hamas to release all the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza, but said this was no reason to prolong the bloodshed.

“Nothing justifies the ongoing war in Gaza,” he said in a passionate address. “Nothing.”

Netanyahu and fellow Israeli politicians have reacted angrily to the recognition push, declaring there would never be a Palestinian state and threatening retaliation when Netanyahu returns to Jerusalem following his trip to the US.

Speaking to the conference via video link after the Trump administration denied him a visa to travel to New York, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned antisemitism and the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed about 1200 people and triggered the war.

Declaring that Hamas must have “no role” in governing Gaza in the future, he said: “Hamas and other factions must surrender their weapons to the Palestinian Authority.

“What we want is one unified state without weapons, a state with one law and one legitimate security forces.”

Albanese had been seeking his first formal meeting with US President Donald Trump on this trip, but that prospect has been scotched, leaving the prime minister to compete for a handshake at a mass reception for world leaders.

Albanese is also seeking to secure a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York to try to break a standoff over who should host the COP31 UN Climate Change Conference next year.

Hamas’ leaders have expressed a willingness to step aside so that a technocratic cabinet can govern Gaza after the war ends, but they have also vowed not to give up their commitment to armed resistance until after a Palestinian state is created.

Albanese said Israel “must accept its share of responsibility” for the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, as he accused the Netanyahu government of taking actions that threaten to put a two-state solution beyond reach.

These actions include the expansion of settlement building in the West Bank, including a surge in settler violence, and threats to annex parts of land earmarked to be part of a future Palestinian state, he said.

Netanyahu condemned the move by claiming that the recognition of a Palestinian state was a “huge reward to terrorism”.

“And I have another message for you: it will not happen. A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

Israeli deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel, who lived in Australia for several years, said Australia’s recognition decision was “entirely about virtue-signalling, particularly to Muslims and left-wing activists”.

“The people of Israel do not support a two-state solution,” she said. “We are a democracy, so there will not be a Palestinian state.”

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs praised Australia’s “bold and principled decision”, saying it “reflects a firm commitment to international law, as well as demonstrates a genuine dedication to ending the occupation and achieving lasting peace”.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said: “This is the moment – the best opportunity that we have as a country to contribute to momentum towards a two-state solution.”

Wong declined to say when or where Australia would establish an embassy in Palestine, but said such steps would be conditional on the Palestinian Authority meeting its commitments to reform and democratisation.

Wong held an event at UN headquarters to launch an Australian-led declaration backed by more than 100 countries, calling for greater protections for aid workers operating in conflict zones.

Almost 700 aid workers have died in conflict zones since the beginning of last year, including Australian Zomi Frankcom, who was killed by an Israeli drone strike last April while working for the World Central Kitchen charity in Gaza.

Frankcom’s brother, Mal, who travelled to the event, said his late sister would have “wholeheartedly” supported the initiative.

“It’s an honour for the family,” he said, adding he believed someone from the Israeli Defence Forces would eventually be held accountable for his sister’s killing, even if it took more than a decade.

With Paul Sakkal

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