Former prime minister John Howard and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer say Labor’s decision to recognise Palestine ‘reckless and dangerous’

Former prime minister John Howard and foreign minister Alexander Downer says Labor’s “premature recognition of Palestine” has breached international law, and accused the government of putting “short-term domestic political advantage” ahead of international law. The Liberal luminaries issued a joint statement on Thursday, and said Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke had “undermined a relationship of enduring trust between Australia and Israel”, and failed to show the leadership and strength of former Labor leaders Bob Hawke and H. V. Evatt, who was the president of the UN General Assembly between 1948 to 1949. While Mr Howard and Mr Downer directly criticised the Prime Minister and Mr Burke, there was no mention of Foreign Minister Penny Wong who stood beside Mr Albanese when he confirmed his decision to recognise Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) later this month. They said the action was “not just poor diplomacy” but “reckless and dangerous”. “As longstanding friends and supporters of Israel who worked in government to advance a genuine two-state solution, we are appalled by the Albanese Government’s recent behaviour,” they said. “The question of recognising Palestine as a sovereign state is not a matter of empty symbolism. “It strikes at the heart of whether international law is to be respected or discarded whenever political expediency is deemed more convenient.” While they expressed concern at the death and suffering of the conflict, they said it was the “cruel unjustified and aggressive action of Hamas on the 7th October 2023 which is responsible for the state of affairs now distressing so many”. Australia’s decision to recognise Palestine, follows similar moves from United Kingdom, Canada, and France, who publicly declared their support following mass condemnation of Israel’s treatment of civilians in Gaza. Mr Albanese said Australia’s position, which ultimately supports a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, was based on commitments from the Palestinian Authority, which administers part of the West Bank, to demilitarise Palestine, expel Hamas, recognise Israel’s right to peace and security, and hold elections and undertake major reforms. Mr Howard and Mr Downer said statehood should not be a “prize handed out to reward sympathy or to satisfy political sentiment,” quoting the Montevideo Convention that statehood needs to meet the criteria of: “A defined territory, a permanent population, an effective government, and the capacity to engage in relations with other states”. They argued that Palestine did not “meet these standards,” which meant recognition was “not a legal act but a political gesture”. “To recognise Palestine prematurely is not just poor diplomacy. It is a betrayal of the legal order that underpins the very idea of a rules-based international system,” they said. “Those who value international law, and who understand the hard lessons of conflict resolution, should resist such a reckless and dangerous course.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been unflinching in his condemnation of Australia's’s decision to back Palestinian statehood, and has accused Mr Albanese of betraying Israel and being a “weak” leader”.