In June, after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' four-day visit to China, the authority weighed in on the Chinese Communist Party's detention of over 1 million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.
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China's policies towards minorities in Xinjiang - widely described as genocide - have "nothing to do with human rights and are aimed at excising extremism and opposing terrorism and separatism," the statement asserted, adding that "Palestine resolutely opposes using the Xinjiang problem as a way of interfering in China's internal affairs".
This declaration is worth keeping in mind with the ALP national conference beginning on August 17, during which the Albanese government will be pushed to formally recognise a Palestinian state.
While the Palestine statement doesn't reference the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it speaks volumes about the nature of the state many in Labor want to recognise: an oppressive, kleptocratic, inept regime that has long prioritised extremism over peace with its neighbour.
After Labor's 2021 national platform described recognising a Palestinian state as "an important priority for the next Labor government", pressure on Albanese to fulfil this commitment was revamped in June, when the Victorian Labor state conference called on the federal government to recognise a Palestinian state "within the term of this Parliament". At the national conference, Labor's progressive base is set to push again for Albanese to recognise a state of Palestine.
That such a move would legitimise the Palestinian Authority, despite it holding no elections since 2006, and reward Hamas, which is designated by Australia as a terrorist organisation, is evident.
Similarly apparent is that despite claiming statehood, the authority is facing a crisis of legitimacy amongst Palestinians (a March poll found that "for the first time since the creation of the authority, a majority [of Palestinians] says that its dissolution or collapse serves the interest of the Palestinian people"). So too has the authority ceded control of many areas in the West Bank under its responsibility to armed gangs. Recognising a Palestinian state would solve none of these issues, but it would encourage the Palestinian Authority to continue exploiting Palestinians, knowing the international community will turn a blind eye.
The most compelling reason for recognition, of course, is Palestinian suffering. But despite this ongoing, heartbreaking tragedy, recognition proponents appear unable to acknowledge the self-defeating role decades of Palestinian extremism continues to play in the Palestinian story.
Advocating for Palestinian rights is indeed necessary, but one can't help but wonder why recognition advocates ignore widespread Palestinian support for terrorism, opposition to a two-state solution, and the fact that Palestinians continue to name communal centres and schools after terrorists.
No wonder the overwhelming majority of democracies around the world - including Australia's closest allies - refuse to recognise a Palestinian state that not only fails to meet requirements for statehood, but whose national movement has neither the appetite for peace, nor the ability to guarantee it.
As Foreign Minister Penny Wong asserted in October, Australia "will not support an approach that undermines" prospects for peace. Prematurely recognising a Palestinian state would do just that - and place Australia out of step with its democratic allies.
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Truth be told, pro-recognition advocates are right: this is the most right-wing government Israel has ever had. But if those in Labor want to punish Israel's hardline coalition by recognising a Palestinian state, they must first explain why the Palestinian Authority - which has never shown even the slightest interest in democracy, let alone abandoning its institutional extremism and support for terrorism - should be the beneficiary of that punishment.
The two-state solution, they argue, needs saving, and Israel's current government only makes matters worse. But the two-state solution - or any peaceful solution - has been moribund for years, by and large thanks to Palestinian rejections of peace at nearly every turn.
Most damaging was then-Palestine president Yasser Arafat abandoning Camp David negotiations in 2000 and launching a vicious five-year campaign of suicide bombings and other terror attacks against Israelis, killing over 1000 and injuring thousands more in what became known as the Second Intifada.
Be it in 1947, 2000, 2001, 2006, or 2008, Palestinians and their leadership have either said no to peace, opted for terrorist organisations in parliamentary elections, or simply walked away from negotiations.
Why certain figures in Labor believe recognising a Palestinian state that neither meets requirements for statehood nor wants peace with Israel would somehow save the two-state solution is anyone's guess.
The tragic reality is that, for now, a peaceful solution to the world's most intractable conflict is not on the table. It hasn't been for years, and neither Israelis nor Palestinians believe that will change any time soon.
Anthony Albanese can't change that, but he can kick peace even further down the road by prematurely recognising a Palestinian state. Is that the legacy he wants?
- Josh Feldman is a writer who focuses primarily on Israeli and Jewish issues. Twitter @joshrfeldman
