Australia\u2019s foreign minister Penny Wong said Canberra would consider recognition of a Palestinian state, a shift in policy as the international community looks for a two-state solution to end the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
\nIn a speech on Tuesday evening, Wong backed comments by Britain\u2019s foreign minister David Cameron who has said that recognising a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations, would make a two-state solution irreversible.
\nWong said the international community is discussing Palestinian statehood \u201cas a way of building momentum towards a two-state solution\u201d.
\n\u201cA two-state solution is the only hope to break the endless cycle of violence,\u201d she said, speaking at the Australian National University.
\nThe so-called two-state solution has long been the basis for international peace efforts to resolve the long Israel-Palestinian conflict, but the process has been stalled for a decade even before the present war in the Palestinian enclave Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
\nPalestinians aspire to having an independent state in the West Bank and East Jerusalem \u2013 occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East War \u2013 and including Gaza.
\nIsrael on Sunday formalised its opposition to what it called the \u201cunilateral recognition\u201d of Palestinian statehood, and said any such agreement must be reached through direct negotiations.
\nSpain is among other Western countries pushing for such recognition and is a main proponent of such a move within the European Union.
\nWong, however, ruled out a role for Hamas, which rules Gaza.
\n\u201cThere is no role for Hamas in a future Palestinian state,\u201d she said.
\nThe Palestinian Authority last week formally asked for renewed consideration by the United Nations Security Council of its 2011 application to become a full member of the world body. The Palestinians are a non-member observer state at the United Nations, the same status as the Holy See.
\nThe United Nations Security Council president on Monday referred the Palestinian Authority\u2019s application to become a full U.N. member to the admission committee.
\nWong said \u201cthose who claim recognition is rewarding an enemy\u201d were wrong because Israel\u2019s own security depends on a two-state solution.
\n\u201cThere is no long-term security for Israel unless it is recognised by the countries of its region,\u201d she said.
\n(Reuters)Two-state solution. Palestinian statehood, two-state solution, international community<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, stated that Canberra is considering recognizing a Palestinian state in support of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Wong emphasized the importance of a two-state solution in ending the cycle of violence and building momentum towards peace. Israel has opposed unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood, insisting on direct negotiations. Wong also ruled out a role for Hamas in a future Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority has requested renewed consideration for full U.N. membership, with support from Spain and other Western countries. Wong highlighted that Israel’s security depends on a two-state solution and recognition by its neighboring countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3038,328,1902,195,4039,2460,2404,1392,4081,145,298,4407,187,3234,299,185,69,1864,1527,345,4482,5684,462,4834,4833,4843,827,3660,586,1358,3450,1759,3200,134,293,1859,3435,18],"class_list":["post-7460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-agreement","tag-australia","tag-bank","tag-britain","tag-building","tag-community","tag-european-union","tag-foreign-minister","tag-future","tag-gaza","tag-hamas","tag-hope","tag-international","tag-international-community","tag-israel","tag-main","tag-middle-east","tag-negotiations","tag-observer","tag-palestine","tag-palestinian-authority","tag-palestinian-statehood","tag-palestinians","tag-peace","tag-policy","tag-president","tag-security","tag-security-council","tag-spain","tag-support","tag-two-state-solution","tag-united-nations","tag-united-nations-security-council","tag-violence","tag-war","tag-west-bank","tag-western-countries","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n