The Australian government has welcomed the Trump administration’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza and says it leaves the door open to a two-state solution.
Anthony Albanese released a statement on Tuesday, calling for all parties to engage with the plan.
“Australia urges all parties to engage seriously with the plan and to work to bring its vision into reality without delay,” he said.
“We commend the plan’s focus on Palestinian self-determination and statehood, and the Palestinian Authority taking back effective control of Gaza. President Trump’s plan reflects a clear rejection of annexation and forced displacement of Palestinians.”
Albanese is returning from a trip to the US, UK and UAE, and said he welcomed “the opportunity to discuss this plan with other leaders over the past week.”
He also welcomed the commitment to denying Hamas a role in any future governance of Gaza, and urged Hamas to agree to the terms.
The US president, Donald Trump, announced the plan alongside the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday, which states Gaza would be governed by a transitional “apolitical” committee.
That committee would be headed by Trump and include former British prime minister Tony Blair.
The deputy prime minister Richard Marles, told ABC radio on Tuesday represents hope for the region to end hostilities and see aid flow into Gaza and hostages returned.
“Our view, ultimately, is that the only way that there will be an enduring peace in the Middle East is if there are two states,” he said. “The plan, as it’s been articulated, that keeps the door open for all of that. So that’s where we see that there is hope.
“We certainly welcome this and we do thank the Americans for the efforts that they have put in here … There have been plans in the past, of course, and so, you know, we’re not there yet. But I think it does represent hope.”
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Marles added the government did not want to see the annexation of Palestinian territories, in response to comments by Netanyahu that Israel would “finish the job by itself” if Hamas rejected the plan.
The opposition has also said the plan represents “hope”.
“We all want to see the war end and we always knew that the only peace that could be brokered would be brokered by the US. So there is hope today,” the Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, told Sunrise on Tuesday.
The Liberal senator and former Australian ambassador to Israel, Dave Sharma, told the Today show the plan was the most detailed and comprehensive agreement put forward since 7 October.
“I think it does have a good chance of success but I think the real difficulty here will be getting Hamas to agree,” he said. “ Hamas is being asked to sign its own extinction warrant here.
“I think Trump’s plan envisages a future role for the Palestinian Authority and I think that’s important. I think that’s something Australia should support. They are the legitimate political body of the Palestinian people.”
The Coalition has said it would revoke Australia’s recognition of Palestinian statehood, which the prime minister committed to at the UN general assembly earlier this month.
The plan has attracted some criticism, including from Greens who said Palestinians must “have the right to determine their own future.”
The deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, criticised the involvement of Trump and Blair in the plan and said it was not a “good faith choice” for Palestinian people.
“The US doesn’t even accept the right of Palestinians to have a state of their own, so I have no faith that this isn’t just continued occupation with different faces,” Faruqi said.
