Call for Palestine recognition by Australian, Canadian and New Zealand MPs

Call for Palestine recognition by Australian, Canadian and New Zealand MPs

OTTAWA - Parliamentarians from Australia, Canada and New Zealand are calling on their respective Prime Ministers to recognise Palestine in an open letter.

More than 100 members of Parliament from nine political parties said it is time for their governments to follow Ireland, Norway, Spain, Slovenia and Armenia who recently joined the 146 nations that recognise Palestine.

Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese (Australia), Justin Trudeau (Canada) and Christopher Luxon (New Zealand) have come together three times over the last year to make joint statements on Gaza but have not yet recognised Palestine diplomatically.

The MPs who organised the open letter say they hope the three governments will together decide to announce recognition to signal the urgent need for a negotiated peace that includes the establishment of a viable Palestinian state.

"New Zealand's foreign affairs minister said recognition was a matter of when not if" said New Zealand Labour's associate foreign affairs spokesperson Phil Twyford.

"Surely the ongoing slaughter in Gaza, and Israel's refusal to heed repeated international calls for a ceasefire, mean it is time for this move by countries like New Zealand."

The open letter cites the International Court of Justice's recent advisory opinion that declared Israel's occupation of the Palestinian Territories to be illegal, and says Israel's devastation of Gaza has accelerated the urgent need for diplomatic recognition.

Canadian MP and NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson said the conditions for a two-state solution are increasingly threatened by illegal settlements and state-sanctioned violence. "It is urgent that Canada recognize the State of Palestine before it is too late," said McPherson.

The MPs note the ICJ's ruling that all states are under an obligation "to ensure that any impediment resulting from the illegal presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to the exercise of the Palestinian people of its right to self-determination is brought to an end."

Australian Labor MP Maria Vamvakinou said only self-determination for the Palestinian people can bring stability and peace to the region. "Recognising a Palestinian state should happen as a part of a two-state solution process, it should not necessarily come at the end of the process" said Ms Vamvakinou.

The open letter says recognising Palestine will benefit both Palestinians and Israelis: "The recognition of Palestine as a state is a step towards restarting rights-based peace talks and will reinforce the moderate voices on both sides who seek a peaceful and political solution in line with the requirements of international law."