“Unfortunately, their thresholds have not yet been reached,” he said.
“The benchmark of mutual acceptance should serve as the basis for recognition of a Palestinian state by any Australian government.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong.Credit: Getty
With the government preparing to abstain or vote yes on the resolution, the federal opposition and Jewish groups have urged Australia to side with the United States and vote against it.
The General Assembly vote is symbolic, but would be seen as an important litmus test for the level of international community support for Palestinian statehood.
Vamvakinou told this masthead that “Australia should vote yes”.
“This is a critical and important opportunity for the global community to recognize the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for self-determination through the establishment of Palestinian statehood,” he said.
A pro-Palestinian protest at the Monash University campus this week.Credit: Justin McManus
“It will be an important step towards the establishment of stability, peace and security in the region. Australia needs to be part of changing the current status quo.”
Ahead of Friday's vote, Wong said Australia would consider the final resolution presented to the General Assembly, but would not say how it would vote.
“We will see what the text is [of the resolution] he says, we will look at what the real meaning of the resolution is… we are focused on the situation on the ground, we want a humanitarian ceasefire, we want the release of the hostages, we want to increase humanitarian aid, and obviously we will talk to our international friends and partners,” he said.
“Australia supports a two-state solution, it's not a question of if we recognize a Palestinian state, it's a question of when.”
loading
He rejected suggestions that voting in favor or abstaining would reward Hamas. “Let's remember that the two-state solution, which is a Palestinian state next to the state of Israel, is actually the opposite of what Hamas wants. Hamas wants conflict, it's about long-term peace.”
Asked when Australia might recognize a Palestinian state, the foreign minister said Australia had historically considered recognition of Palestine to come at the end of a negotiated peace process. Now, however, there was a developing view that recognition might contribute to a peace settlement.
Wong warned, however, that if Australia recognized Palestine at the UN, it would not automatically be followed by bilateral recognition.
“One does not necessarily lead to the other at the same time.”
Shadow Foreign Secretary Simon Birmingham said backing full UN membership of Palestine while Hamas still held more than 100 Israeli hostages in Gaza would be the “worst sign in the world that could send without a vote like this.”
The Palestinian Authority's top representative in Australia, Izzat Salah Abdulhadi, urged the government to support the resolution, saying: “This is the time to recognize the state of Palestine after the horrors of the war in Gaza.”
Meanwhile, Australian universities have been hit in recent weeks by pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protests, with encampments set up on some campuses.
Sydney and Monash universities have urged students protesting the war in Gaza to stop using phrases such as “intifada” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
“Intifada” is an Arabic word for popular uprising, but the Anti-Defamation League, founded a century ago to counter defamation of Jews, argues that it is a slogan calling for indiscriminate violence against Israel. The universities also sought guidance on calls that Palestine should be free “from the river to the sea” because of long-standing concerns that the words are anti-Semitic and seek the destruction of the state of Israel.
loading
Monash ordered the removal of the “Zionist not welcome” slogans earlier this week after receiving legal advice that it was defamation.
Asked about pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, Wong told Radio National's breakfast on Friday that she had a problem with the “from the river to the sea” chant.
“I've always believed that what he's saying is against a two-state solution,” he said.
Asked if he thought some of the language used on campuses was anti-Semitic, Wong said, “Yes, I do.”
The Israeli invasion of Gaza began after the October 7 attacks by Hamas, which killed 1,200 people. More than 34,500 people have died in Gaza since the war began.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with expert news, opinion and analysis. Subscribers can sign up for our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
