The recognition of the State of Palestine by Australia, leading, it is hoped, to full UN member state status, is an important development.

What has followed is a remarkable demonstration of ignorance and/or submission to the Zionist lobby.

Rewarding Hamas

Let us consider aspects of the response. One aspect is that recognising Palestine is rewarding the terrorist organisation, Hamas.

There are a number of issues involved here. The first issue is that Hamas is branded as a terrorist organisation. So much is said, apparently, by eight nations compared to the overwhelming majority of UN recognised states which do not so regard it. May I suggest that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation: refer P&I, Oct.23, 2022 Australia must overturn its listing of Hamas as a terrorist organisation. Hamas is a Palestinian Islamist political party which chose to fight apartheid by calling for one state. That was Hamas’s object when it fought the election against Fatah in 2006.

As an aside, it now results in the lie that it is ridiculous that the Albanese Government would recognise Palestine as part of a two-state solution when Hamas rejects a two-state solution. This is just yet another attempt to demonise Hamas. Hamas leaders have repeatedly said they would accept a two-state solution. It has only recently done so again. On 23 July last, when Hamas responded to a US draft ceasefire framework the Hamas official, Basem Naim, affirmed Hamas’s publicly stated pledge that it would give up power in Gaza and support a two-state solution on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestine. These are the very borders stipulated by international law – see hereunder.

The Palestinians constituting Hamas are residents of an illegally occupied territory. International law affords to them the right to resist:

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