Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed to meet at the September United Nations summit in New York, where France plans to recognise Palestine.
The planned meeting comes after the UK and Canada have both expressed intentions of recognising a Palestinian state, and Australia has shown support for a two-state solution.
During an overnight call on Tuesday, Albanese and Macron pair discussed the crisis in Gaza and their ongoing commitment to get aid for civilians.
“Both leaders discussed their longstanding support for a two-state solution,” a readout of the call between the leaders said.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said that statehood is a matter of “when, not if”, but has not yet set a timeline. Wong revealed that Australia is working with other nations on Palestine’s recognition to ensure its concerns are met.
“We want to ensure work with others to ensure that Hamas has no role in a future Palestinian state, and we do have a unique opportunity at this time with the international community to isolate Hamas,” she said.
Australia’s renewed urgency comes after pro-Palestinian protests in Australian cities, including Melbourne and in Sydney where between 200,000 and 300,000 people marched over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
In further Gaza news, the Israeli media have reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering a full takeover of the Gaza Strip.
According to ABC, Netanyahu held a “limited security discussion” where his military chief of staff, Eyal Zamir “presented the options for continuing the campaign in Gaza”.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for the international community to intervene after mounting Palestinian deaths due to malnutrition and Israeli attacks. According to medical sources in Gaza, at least 74 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes on Monday.
Latest reports have counted that the number of adults to die from hunger in Gaza over the past five weeks grew to 82 and 93 children have also been killed by man-made malnutrition imposed since the war began.
Photo: 19.11.2024 – 3ª Sessão da Reunião de Líderes do G20: Desenvolvimento Sustentável e Transição Energética by Palácio do Planalto found HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has not been modified.
