Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today that his country will recognize a Palestinian state in September, joining a growing list of Western allies as international condemnation and anger build over Israel’s actions in Gaza.
On Monday, New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said his country was also considering recognizing a Palestinian state, and would make a decision at a cabinet meeting in September.
“New Zealand has been clear for some time that our recognition of a Palestinian state is a matter of when, not if,” Peters said in a statement, echoing the language used by Australian officials in the weeks leading up to Monday’s announcement.
Describing the situation in Gaza as an “absolute human catastrophe,” New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said in a press conference that it was “entirely appropriate that we take the time to actually make sure we weigh up our decision and work that through in a sensible way.”
Some context: Australia joins the United Kingdom, France and Canada in announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September. The move leaves the US increasingly isolated from some of its closest allies in its defense of Israel’s escalating military campaign that’s decimated the besieged enclave after almost two years of war.
If Wellington also moves, it will mean that four of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network, comprising the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, will recognize Palestinian statehood.
