Four days after Hamas’s brutal October 7 terror attack on Israel, Foreign Minister Penny Wong told the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce: “One of the many tragic consequences of Hamas’ abhorrent attack is that it has pushed that two-state solution further out of reach.

“That also makes this an unconscionable crime perpetrated by Hamas against the Palestinian people.”

Wong’s view was the conventional wisdom at the time. Efforts to create an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel had been languishing for two decades since Bill Clinton failed to broker a historic breakthrough at the Camp David summit in 2000.

Any remaining flickers of goodwill, it seemed, would be extinguished by the fury unleashed by the October 7 massacres and Israel’s retaliatory war against Hamas in Gaza.

Six months on from October 7, Wong was far less fatalistic when she addressed a national security conference at the Australian National University on Tuesday night.

“A two-state solution is the only hope to break the endless cycle of violence,” Wong said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has revived discussion of a two-state solution and recognition of Palestine.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“This is why we are urging all parties to return to the table and support all efforts to advance a political process, including discussions between regional leaders.”

Specifically, she said, “the international community is now considering the question of Palestinian statehood as a way of building momentum towards a two-state solution”.

QOSHE - Albanese says the entire world wants a two-state solution. But do Israelis and Palestinians? - Matthew Knott
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Albanese says the entire world wants a two-state solution. But do Israelis and Palestinians?

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11.04.2024

Four days after Hamas’s brutal October 7 terror attack on Israel, Foreign Minister Penny Wong told the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce: “One of the many tragic consequences of Hamas’ abhorrent attack is that it has pushed that two-state solution further out of reach.

“That also makes this an unconscionable crime perpetrated by Hamas against the Palestinian........

© The Sydney Morning Herald


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