UK, Canada, Australia recognise Palestinian state

The United Kingdom, Australia and Canada on Sunday formally recognised the state of Palestine as part of an effort to revive momentum for a two-state solution, according to a joint statement.

In coordinated moves, the three Western nations issued statements in this regard two days ahead of the start of the UN General Assembly’s annual “High-Level General Debate” in New York.

The moves will have no impact on the ground realities, global leaders and analysts have already said, and are only intended “to revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution” amid the rapidly diminishing prospects for establishing an independent Palestinian state.

On Sunday, Israeli forces killed 55 people across the Gaza Strip, defying months of international calls for a ceasefire.

Australia and UK clarified that in the future Palestinian state Hamas can have “no future, no role in government, and no role in security.” In carefully worded statements, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Australian government markedly minimised the Israeli role in in the sufferings of Israeli civilians, and the inhumane realities surrounding the Gaza people.

Conversely, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney completely avoided mentioning the Palestinian liberation movement, and was rather focused on lambasting the current Israeli administration, as per a statement posted on “X.”

“The current Israeli government is working methodically to prevent the prospect of a Palestinian state from ever being established. It has pursued an unrelenting policy of settlement expansion in the West Bank, which is illegal under international law. Its sustained assault in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of civilians, displaced well over one million people, and caused a devastating and preventable famine in violation of international law,” read Carney’s statement.

The Canadian premier, however, stopped short of terming the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza as a “genocidal campaign” and “crimes against humanity.”

Canada is under no illusion that this recognition is a “panacea” for solving the nearly eight-decade old Israel-Palestinian conflict, Carney added in his statement.

Nonetheless, the symbolism embodied by the Western recognitions is strong, writes BBC Diplomatic Correspondent Paul Adams.

As UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy pointed out during his speech at the UN last July, “Britain bears a special burden of responsibility to support the two-state solution”.

“It’s [Western recognition] not too late, and it’s not pointless,” a Palestinian woman told BBC in Ramallah city in the occupied West Bank.

But some here are worried that recognition will prompt Israel to crack down even further – with the government pressing ahead with plans for new settlements across the West Bank, and some ministers threatening annexation of parts of the territory.