Australia and New Zealand have announced plans to officially recognize the State of Palestine during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September — a decision widely hailed as a major boost for Palestinian statehood and the struggle for justice.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Parliament on Monday that the recognition affirms Australia’s commitment to the two-state solution and the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to an independent state. He emphasized that this recognition would go beyond symbolism, aiming to actively advance the stalled Middle East peace process.

“This is not just a gesture — it is a step towards justice for a people who have endured decades of occupation, displacement, and oppression,” Albanese said, following a cabinet decision on the matter.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s government will also formally recognize the State of Palestine, with the official decision to be presented in September during UN Leaders’ Week.

The announcements come amid growing international momentum for Palestinian recognition. At the High-Level International Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Palestinian Issue — held at the UN Headquarters in New York in late July under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia and France — several countries, including France, the UK, Malta, and Canada, declared their intention to grant recognition during the upcoming General Assembly session.

Pro-Palestinian advocates have welcomed the decisions by Australia and New Zealand as a direct challenge to decades of Israeli obstruction of Palestinian sovereignty, saying such recognition reinforces the legitimacy of Palestinian rights under international law and brings the vision of an independent Palestine closer to reality.

The recognition, if implemented as announced, would mark a significant diplomatic setback for Israel’s campaign to block Palestinian statehood at the UN, and a major symbolic victory for the Palestinian people’s long struggle for freedom and self-determination. (ILKHA)