“A sad and shameful day for all Australians” 

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Australia’s support of a UN resolution on Palestine will help to broker peace, the foreign minister says, but a Labor MP argues it will leave Jewish Australians isolated.

Penny Wong

Australia overnight joined 142 other nations in passing a vote to upgrade Palestine’s rights as a UN observer state.

The United States, Israel and seven others voted against the draft resolution, while 25 nations abstained.

The non-binding resolution recommends the UN Security Council reconsider granting Palestine full membership after the US vetoed a previous effort.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the vote did not equate to recognising statehood but Australia no longer believed that recognition could only come at the end of a peace process.

Palestine still needed a governing authority committed to peace and engagement in political processes, she said.

“We all know one vote won’t on its own end this conflict – it has spanned our entire lifetimes – but we all have to do what we can to build momentum towards peace,” she told reporters in Adelaide on Saturday.

Palestinian statehood would be recognised “when we think the time is right”, she said.

“Hamas has no place in the future governance of Gaza,” Senator Wong added.

Labor backbencher Josh Burns, who supports a two-state solution, said Australia should have abstained from the vote while Hamas remained in power.

“An abstention would have signalled we’re open to further recognition, but that we acknowledge the short-term hurdles that need to be overcome in order to achieve lasting piece,” he wrote on Instagram.

“Anti-Semitism is on the rise in Australia and this decision will make Jewish Australians feel even more isolated as they remain gravely concerned for hostages in Gaza.”

Former prime minister Scott Morrison used social media to describe the vote as “the most hostile policy act” of any Australian government towards Israel.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he understood the distress felt by Jewish Australians after the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, but Palestinians also had the right to live in peace and security.

“Our position was to vote yes … because we believe it was consistent with our support for a two-state solution,” he told reporters in Launceston.

Former Liberal Prime Minister Scott Morrison tweeted: “This is the most hostile policy act of an Australian Government to the State
of Israel in our history. Such recognition must only occur where there is agreement and when Palestine can be a functional state. It is currently governed by terrorists. It has been taken at a time when Jewish Australians confront a disgraceful wave of antisemitism and Israel is fighting in self defence for its very existence, against Hamas – a recognised terrorist organisation in Australia – that attacked it’s people on October 7 and seeks to destroy Israel and it’s people. This is what the terrorists wanted. This is why Hamas attacked Israel. Terribly saddened and disappointed.”

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said voting in favour of the resolution put Australia out of step with important allies who abstained or rejected it and risked emboldening terrorists.

“Labor’s support for the resolution sends a shameful message that violence and terrorism get results ahead of negotiation and diplomacy,” he said.

Israel’s ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon tweeted: “Granting the Palestinian UN rights without direct negotiations is counterproductive and would only reward Hamas for the atrocities they committed on October 7. A reward that will only empower Iran and Hamas to further destabilise the region. A UN resolution that once again failed to condemn the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7th or to call for the immediate release of all hostages… It is disappointing to find Australia in disalignment with the group of LM countries with which it traditionally is. the vote would empower Iran and Hamas to further destabilise the region. ”

Daniel Aghion, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said it was a “sad and shameful” outcome.

“Instead of incentivising the Palestinians to return to negotiations with Israel, such an unearned gain will do the opposite

Australia’s UN representative James Larsen said the resolution provided a modest extension of Palestine’s observer rights while rejecting the goals and methods of Hamas, condemning the October 7 attack and calling for hostage releases.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion said: “Even though the General Assembly resolution was watered down so as to provide the Palestinians with enhanced observer status at the UN rather than full membership, it should not have been supported.

The Palestinian leadership is as autocratic, corrupt and divided as ever, and remains incapable of forming a single government with the capacity to rule over its claimed territory.  It continues to foment fanatical hatred and violence against Israel in the region and around the world.

Nothing has changed that would justify the reward that the UN has given the Palestinian leadership, with the Australian government’s backing.   Instead of incentivising the Palestinians to return to negotiations with Israel, such an unearned gain will do the opposite.  Grandstanding at the UN will not change the realities on the ground.  It will do nothing to free the Israeli hostages or break the grip of Hamas and alleviate the plight of Gazan civilians.

“One can only conclude that Australia’s vote was driven by domestic political considerations, and not by principle, which makes it a sad and shameful day for all Australians.   Australia should have joined the UK, Canada and the US in abstaining or voting against the resolution.”

The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) today condemned Australia’s vote to upgrade the status of the “State of Palestine” at the UN General Assembly yesterday as “profoundly disappointing” and “totally contrary to our long-standing bipartisan national commitment to a negotiated two-state peace between Israel and the Palestinians.”

AIJAC Executive Director Dr Colin Rubenstein described the vote as “profoundly disappointing and completely misguided as a way to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace following the current Gaza conflict launched by Hamas’ unprovoked mass pogrom of October 7 last year.

In a statement, he said: “Apart from the fact that ‘Palestine’ clearly does not currently meet the criteria for statehood defined by international treaty law, the preconditions for a two-state Israeli-Palestinian peace are simply not currently in place, and extending recognition to the ‘State of Palestine’ makes it much less likely these preconditions can ever be put in place.

“As the Government correctly says, Hamas must have no future role in governing Gaza, not least because it is irredeemably and militantly opposed to any two-state peace. Yet there is no doubt whatsoever that many Palestinians see UN recognition of ‘Palestine’ as a major national achievement made possible by Hamas’ wave of barbaric mass violence on October 7. Such recognition thus not only makes Hamas more popular among Palestinians, but also undeniably amounts to rewarding its violent, terrorist methods. The world, with Australia’s support, is thus effectively signalling that mass murder, rape, kidnapping, and hostage-taking are acceptable and effective tools for achieving legitimacy and international support.

In addition, extending such recognition now is also a huge disincentive for the Palestinian Authority (PA) –  which has long rejected peace negotiations, is rife with corruption, and incentivises terrorism – to undertake the root and branch reforms our Government has acknowledged it must before it can take over Gaza’s governance post-war, or become the nucleus of a Palestinian state.

Furthermore, the UN General Assembly vote to give the ‘State of Palestine’ status as a member state in almost all respects contradicts the language of the UN Charter – part of a wider pattern whereby the UN has destroyed its ability to be a force for Middle East peace through the extreme anti-Israel bias and partisanship which has dominated that body for decades. The UN is making itself disreputable and irrelevant, which cannot serve Australia’s broader national interest, even apart from the damage the UN’s extreme bias does to our declared national goal of seeking to foster a negotiated two-state peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Yet with this vote, Australia has effectively backed the UN to both discredit itself as a trustworthy custodian of international peace and security and make itself yet more of an obstacle to genuine Israeli Palestinian peace.

Damagingly to our national credibility, we are also out step with our key allies. This includes the  US, Argentina, Papua New Guinea and Czechia, which voted against, and the UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Ukraine, Fiji, and the Netherlands, which abstained, all clearly recognising the very counter-productive effects of this UN resolution.”

Rubenstein also added that “at a time when the Jewish community is looking for government leadership and support in the face of an unprecedented wave of antisemitism in Australia, the Government’s vote – which can only further inflame communal tensions – is particularly concerning.”

Dr. Rubenstein described the effect of the vote as “totally contrary to our long-standing bipartisan national commitment to a negotiated two-state peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” and to “our historic friendship and support for our democratic friend and ally Israel and its security,” as well as undermining Australia’s democratic values and traditions.

He concluded by calling on the Government to reconsider its current “short-sighted, confused and counter-productive” policy approach toward Israel, the Palestinians and the current war in Gaza.

The Zionist Federation of Australia is appalled by the Albanese Government’s decision to vote for the General Assembly resolution to upgrade the status of the ‘State of Palestine’ and grant it additional rights and privileges within the United Nations.

ZFA President Jeremy Leibler said, “The Palestinians have rejected every peace plan ever offered to them. Granting additional rights and privileges now, in the aftermath of Hamas’s perpetration of the deadliest attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust, will only encourage that rejectionism and refusal to compromise. It will weaken the moderate voices within Palestinian society, strengthen Hamas and reward the terrorism.

The resolution does not call for the surrender of Hamas, or even call for the release of the more than 130 hostages it holds. Nor does it make recognition of Israel’s right to exist a precondition of recognition of Palestinian statehood. It removes from Palestinians any responsibility for the failure of the peace process to date or for creating peace into the future.”

Mr Leibler added, “The decision puts Australia out of step with key allies, including the majority of our Five Eyes partners; The United States opposed it, while Canada and the United Kingdom abstained, together with other democracies of good conscience, including Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.

Leibler continued, “This decision by the Albanese Government will cause many Australians now to doubt whether the proud and longstanding bipartisan position in support of the State of Israel remains.”

We recognise that Australia’s ‘statement of explanation’ makes it clear that voting in favour of this resolution does not constitute recognition of a Palestinian state. It condemns Hamas, calls for the release of hostages and makes it clear that the status of Jerusalem will also be determined by negotiations between the parties. However, we find it difficult to reconcile this statement with the resolution itself, which history will view as a reward for Hamas’s barbaric terrorist attack on 7 October. Hamas, Iran and Islamist terrorists will be celebrating this ill-conceived resolution that will only extend the conflict and the suffering of all sides. Australians should not.”

The Independent MP for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, said: “We all want to see a lasting peace in the Middle East, and I continue to support a two-state solution with self-determination for both Israeli and Palestinian people.

I am deeply concerned that this sends the wrong message to Hamas, who are committed to the destruction of Israel.”

World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder issued a statement in which he said: “Today’s premature vote on Palestinian statehood by the members of the UN General Assembly serves as a distraction from the essential efforts required to solve the critical issues obstructing a two-state solution. The recent October 7th attacks should only serve as a stark reminder that Hamas, which has been rightly designated as a terrorist organization, can play no role in the future of the Palestinian people.

“The World Jewish Congress has consistently supported a negotiated two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians. However, genuine peace cannot be imposed from the outside; it must develop through direct negotiations when Palestinian society decisively rejects and removes unacceptable actors like Hamas from its midst.

“It is crucial for the international community to prioritize not only symbolic gestures but also substantive actions that foster real peace. This includes addressing the urgent issue of hostages in Gaza and confronting the continued threat posed by Hamas.

“We urge the UN and its bodies to support initiatives that bring both parties back to the negotiation table, facilitating a dialogue capable of reaching a sustainable agreement that prevents extremist factions from derailing the Palestinian cause.”

AAP/J-Wire