The Australian prime minister says that Australia has secured “detailed and significant commitments” from the Palestinian Authority (PA) as conditions for its plan to recognise Palestinian statehood, Al Jazeera reports.
The PA, which currently governs the occupied West Bank, agreed to the following, according to Albanese:
- Reaffirmed it recognises Israel’s right to exist in peace and security.
- Committed to demilitarise and to hold general elections.
- Pledged to abolish the system of payments to the families of prisoners and martyrs.
- Promised broader reform of governance, financial transparency in the education system, including international oversight to guard against the incitement of violence and hatred.
“This is an opportunity to deliver self determination for the people of Palestine in a way that isolates Hamas, disarms it and drives it out of the region once and for all,” Albanese added.
Albanese also said that these commitments “have been given even greater weight” by the Arab League’s recent “unprecedented demand for Hamas to end its rule in Gaza and surrender its weapons to the Palestinian Authority”.
