Australia was among the first countries to recognise the state of Israel, but regrettably looks set to be among the last to recognise the state of Palestine. Three-quarters of the world – more than 140 countries – already recognise Palestine is a state, as does the United Nations. Australia’s close allies may soon follow, including France, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is weighing up whether Australia will join France by recognising Palestine.Credit: Aresna Villanueva

The momentum is driven by horror at Israel’s relentless destruction in Gaza, the failure of more than 30 years of negotiations for a two-state solution since the Oslo Accords in 1993, Israel’s persistent denial of Palestinian self-determination, de facto annexation of Palestinian land in the West Bank by illegal Israeli settlements and the extremism of the Netanyahu government. Also, no-one believes that the United States is an honest broker for peace, having fuelled Israeli war crimes with an endless supply of weapons and even threatening to seize Gaza.

Current moves are a long-overdue circuit-breaker in a century of conflict when everything else has failed. The Palestinians were first promised a state over a century ago. A 1947 United Nations proposal to divide the British Mandate of Palestine into two states did not go to plan.

Israel unilaterally declared statehood in 1948 after an insurgency against the British, terrorism against civilians and even assassination of UN officials. It........

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