Former prime minister Kevin Rudd says the “time has come” for Australia to recognise Palestine, saying his deepest fear is the “drifting towards the disintegration and death of an independent Palestinian state,” which he warns would fuel new radicalisation in the Middle East.
And in a sharp rebuke to both Israel and US President Donald Trump, who appeared to up-end decades of US foreign policy by signalling that he would accept a one-state solution, Mr Rudd said it was critical that Australia, as a close friend to both Israel and the US, underline that abandoning the two-state solution would be “unacceptable.”
Speaking exclusively to Fairfax Media, Mr Rudd, who is Munich attending a global security conference, said he also feared a third Intifada, or Palestinian uprising against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.
Mr Rudd’s call comes ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu’s historic visit to Australia – the first ever by a serving Israeli prime minister – which begins on Wednesday.
A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media
A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media
