Sydney, 11 August 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday said Australia would recognize Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly in September, with conditions.

"Today I can confirm that at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September, Australia will recognize the State of Palestine," Albanese said in a press conference in Canberra, flanked by Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

Albanese said his country would "recognize the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own, predicated on the commitments" that Australia received from the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA), headed by Mahmoud Abbas.

The Australian prime minister said the PA agreed there could be "no role ... in any future Palestinian state" for Palestinian militant organization Hamas, which triggered the Gaza war with its attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.

He said that the PA also "reaffirmed Israel's right to exist in peace and security," as well as committing to demilitarize, hold general elections and promising reforms, among other things.

Albanese said that Canberra's decision to change its policy comes "as part of a coordinated global effort building momentum towards a two-state solution."

The announcement follows a similar shifts by the United Kingdom, France and Canada in recent weeks, and comes after the Israeli Security Cabinet decided on Friday that the military should take over Gaza City, sparking international outcry.

"A two-state solution is humanity's best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza," the Australian premier said.

"The situation in Gaza has gone beyond the world's worst fears, far too many innocent lives have been lost. The Israeli government continues to defy international law and deny sufficient aid, food and water to desperate people, including children," Albanese said.

Wong said that "we can't keep waiting for the end of a peace process that has ground to a halt."

The foreign minister said that the Australian government has been reconsidering its approach to the conflict in Gaza since April.

"We made clear we would recognize Palestine when it would best contribute momentum to peace," she said. "September is that time."

"The world watched in horror the attacks by Hamas on October 7, the worst loss of Jewish lives on a single day since the Holocaust. Hostages are still cruelly held, and we want them all released and reunited with their families and loved ones," Wong said.

"And the world has watched in horror since, as tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians are killed, thousands starving ... We have always said that Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas, but a whole population has been shattered.

"So, this September, the international community has the chance to forge hope from despair," Wong said.

Almost 150 UN member states already recognize Palestinian statehood. However, important Western countries are not among them, including the UN veto powers the United States and the UK.

The conflict in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage.

Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip that has led to the deaths of more than 61,000 people, according to figures from the Hamas-controlled health authorities in the territory.

Israeli authorities estimate that 50 hostages remain in Hamas captivity, about 20 of whom are believed to be alive.