Former ambassador to Israel warns against delaying recognition of Palestine

Failing to recognise a Palestinian state would reward the Israeli government for its “campaign of genocidal violence”, a former Australian ambassador to Israel has warned, as the Albanese government weighs its next diplomatic steps.

Peter Rodgers, who served as ambassador in the 1990s, made the comments to the media today, where he dismissed suggestions that recognition of Palestine would legitimise Hamas as “nonsensical”. He argued that denying recognition only enables further abuses. “Not recognising a Palestinian state rewards Israel,” he said.

“It rewards the government of Benjamin Netanyahu for ethnic cleansing and apartheid in the West Bank. We need to be very careful of pointing the finger in one direction and forgetting what’s going on on the other side.”

Rodgers acknowledged the Palestinian Authority was currently “pretty useless” but argued that recognition could create the conditions for reform. “There is an opportunity to work with other Palestinians, to work towards reforming the Palestinian Authority and giving it meaningful power,” he said. He is among dozens of former Australian diplomats who signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling for urgent recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Rodgers argued that recognising a Palestinian state should not be held hostage to Hamas’s status or influence. He dismissed the idea that recognition would reward Hamas as “nonsensical” and focused attention instead on the need to avoid enabling Israeli excesses.

Australia has begun coordinating with international partners as France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Malta prepare to bring forward formal recognition of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September. More than 140 of the 193 UN member states already recognise the state of Palestine, including recent additions Spain, Ireland, Norway, and Slovenia.

While the Albanese government has stated that recognition is a matter of “when, not if”, it has so far stopped short of committing to a timeline. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has insisted that any recognition must ensure Hamas plays no role in a future Palestinian government.
“We want to see commitments from the Palestinian Authority, commitments of their governance and reforms,” he said following talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has echoed this position, warning that if the world continues to delay action, “there will be no Palestine left to recognise.” She has maintained that recognition must be linked to long-term peace and political reform within the Palestinian leadership.

However, Liberal Senator and former ambassador Dave Sharma has warned that premature recognition could embolden Hamas and jeopardise ongoing ceasefire efforts. “What it has done… is it’s emboldened Hamas,” Sharma said in a recent media interview. “They’re not going to agree to a ceasefire now until they have a fully-fledged state and a capital in Jerusalem. So, they’ve shifted the goalposts because they see that the international community is not serious about their removal.”

Sharma argued that recognition by countries such as Australia, the UK, and Canada would not result in the creation of a Palestinian state without Israeli agreement. “Only the UN Security Council can do that, and the US has a veto there. That can only come about if Israel agrees to it. That’s why it’s always been a negotiated two-state solution.”