A HATE MARCH AND THE RECOGNITION OF A PALESTINIAN STATE

A “Humanitarian” Hate March

On 3 August 2025 100,000 pro protesters marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, united in their hatred of everything to do with Israel and the Jewish people. They carried  Isis banners, Hamas flags and placards reading “from the river to the sea”. The protest was organised by the same mob who had organised the sickening clamor at the Sydney Opera House on 9 October 2023 to celebrate the Hamas massacre, chanting  “F..k the Jews” and “Gas the Jews” while the authorities stood by.  It was not a peace march and certainly not a march for humanity.[i]

There were no Australian flags to be seen. It was Sydney’s day of shame.

More was to come. On Sunday 24 August protesters in support of Palestine rallied in more than 40 cities and towns across Australia, including Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. Estimates range from between 90,000 and 300,000 participants. The rallies were said to be backed by Amnesty International.[ii] 

The Oslo Accords

In1993, the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s (PLO) Mahmoud Abbas signed a Declaration of Principles known as the first “Oslo Acord” in which the PLO would renounce terrorism and recognise Israel’s right to exist. Subsequently President Clinton convened a summit at Camp David in July 2000 where Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and the PLO’s Yassir Arafat were to reach a final agreement for a two-state solution. Israel offered Arafat as much as any Israeli government would ever offer for a Palestinian state, but Arafat flatly turned it down and the summit ended with no settlement.[iii] 

In 2008 Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered the Palestinians a state which would occupy 94% of the West Bank and all of Gaza, with its capital in East Jerusalem. The offer required the Palestinians to renounce terrorism and abandon any demand for millions of Palestinians living elsewhere to be permitted to return to live in Israel. The proposal was also rejected. Since then, the Palestinian leadership has refused to negotiate.

Ending the War

Israel recently announced its Five Requirements for ending the war in Gaza, namely:  Full disarmament of Hamas; Return of all hostages; Demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip: Full Israeli security over the territory; and Creation of an alternative civilian government that would be neither Hamas nor the PA.

On 19 August a 60 day ceasefire proposal was put forward by Egyptian and Qatari mediators. Hamas would agree to a ceasefire which involved the immediate release of 10 living and 15 deceased hostages and the remaining hostages would be released after 60 days. However, if no agreement was then reached to end the war, the remaining hostages would not be freed. This proposal fails to meet Israel’s requirements and Israel would only agree if all of its requirements were met.[iv]

Recognising a Palestinian State

In July 2025 President Macron announced France’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state. He was soon followed by Britain and Canada. The UK Prime Minister Starmer said, “The UK will recognise the state of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agrees to a ceasefire and commits to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution”. Starmer ignored the precondition that before any recognition of a Palestinian state, Israel’s right to exist must be agreed and accepted.[v]

Australia has long taken the view that a “two-state solution” should not happen until Israel’s right to exist is acknowledged and its security assured. However, ever since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been unable to give that assurance. Instead, the elimination of the people of Israel remained the explicit objective of Hamas. Despite that, on 11 August 2025, following France, Britain and Canada, Australia’s Prime Minister Albanese announced that Australia would also recognise a Palestinian state at the UN in September. This decision, while hostages remained in tunnels under Gaza was met with an avalanche of criticism in The Australian newspaper. 

This decision meant that Australia would recognise a Palestinian state which had no agreed borders, no functioning government, no willingness to recognise and accept the state of Israel and with the Hamas terror group remaining  in power. Albanese claimed he was swayed by the commitment of the 89 year old PA President Mahmoud Abbas that Hamas would play no future role in a Palestinian state even though neither Abbas nor the PA were capable of securing the release of the hostages, disarming Hamas or removing Hamas from control of Gaza. It was an utterly empty commitment.

Why would Australia which has experienced terror attacks at home and the 2002 Bali bombing when 88 Australians were killed, grant visas to visiting Islamist hate-preachers such as Sami Hamdi and Mohammed Ghuloom. This attitude has been evident ever since Australia’s Foreign Minister Wong called on Israel to exercise “restraint” at a time when bodies were being recovered in southern Israel and hostages were being tortured, raped and killed and the next day, Sheik Ibrahim Dadoun rejoiced in Sydney’s Lakemba at the murder of innocents saying he was “elated” and proud of a day of “victory”.

Dismay

Netanyahu reacted saying, “History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews” and Israel’s President Isaac Hertzog accused Australia’s Labor government of rewarding terror. What Australia does and says matters to Israel but, it also matters to the bloodthirsty jihadists of Hamas who have used Albanese’s criticism of Israel and promotion of a Palestinian state as propaganda fodder.[vi]

The lead article in The Spectator magazine on 16 August 2025 “WRECKOGNITION” read, “There are very few words in the English language that adequately describe the treachery and lack of moral integrity of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Foreign Minister Penny Wong in their deciding to recognise the non-existent state of Palestine. How about ‘Wreckognition’ – the art of wrecking your own country, its values, its traditions, its loyalties and its alliances”. 

Australia’s  former Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer remarked, “We’ve gone from supporting a liberal democratic country under siege from a terrorist  organisation  to supporting that terrorist organisation. I think it is the worst foreign policy decision Australia has made since the Second World War”.

Kelly Craft who served as the 30^th US ambassador to the UN wrote that Israel had delivered almost 1.9 million tons of international humanitarian aid to Gaza since 7 October 2023 and it was delivering about 1.8 million meals per day to Gaza. She added, “No nation has ever done such a thing. Indeed, no nation has ever been expected to do such a thing”. Craft stressed that the source of the Palestinian suffering was Hamas which stole this food and sold it on the black market while weaponising images of Palestinian suffering to build pressure on Israel.[vii]

The US ambassador  to Israel, Mike  Huckabee denounced the Western countries which had declared plans to recognise a Palestinian state. The Arab League which includes Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt has condemned the October 7 massacre and has unanimously voted for the release of all Israeli hostages. Huckabee pointed to the irony that it was the Arab League which recognised that Israel is the party which had been attacked, whereas Western countries who one might expect would support democratic Israel have instead sided with Hamas.[viii]

More was to come. On 19 August 2025 the Albanese government revoked the visa of Simcha Rothman, a member of Israel’s Religious Zionist Party. Rothman had received a last minute email from the Australian government cancelling his visit to Australia, saying his presence in Australia might be “A risk to the good order of the Australian community, or a segment of the Australian community, namely the Islamic population”.[ix] 

Gaza City

On 8 August, Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan to conquer Gaza City. Israeli planes and tanks pounded the outskirts of Gaza City overnight on Saturday 23^rd August and into Sunday, working to dismantle Hamas capabilities, including destroying tunnels and eliminating terrorists. Netanyahu’s plan was to take control of Gaza and then to transfer control to “Arab forces that will govern it without threatening us, and giving Gazans a good life”.^[x] 

Earlier, Israeli protesters, bereaved families and relatives of the hostages had poured onto Israel’s streets, but Netanyahu remained determined to proceed saying Hamas refused Israel’s conditions for an end to the war in Gaza and “We insist not only that Hamas be disarmed, but that Israel also enforce the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip”.

AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM – HEAR THE OTHER SIDE

[i] Sydney Harbour Bridge March, The Australian 9 August 2025

[ii] Brisbane pro-Palestine rally kicks off as part of nationwide action, The Australian, 24 August 25

[iii] Office of the Historian (USA) – 1993-2000

[iv] Hamas accepts new Gaza truce plan, 19 August 2025

[v] George Brandis, Recognising Palestine Rewards Hamas, SMH 10 August 2025

[vi] Chris Kenny, What we do and say matters to Israel, The Australian, 23 August 2025

[vii] Kelly Craft, Albanese's call was at the worst time for allies, The Australian, 20 August 2025

[viii] Huckabee, UK and France to Join Israel’s enemies, The Times of Israel, 13 August 2025

[ix] Israeli MP blocked from Australia to protect Muslim community,The Australian, 19 August 2025

[x] Army will carry out Gaza City occupation plan, Times of Israel, 8 & 25 August 2025