The Australian government has condemned Hamas for attempting to “manipulate facts for their own propaganda” after the terrorist group welcomed Canberra’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Monday that Australia would recognise Palestine at the United Nations next month, joining more than 140 countries, roughly three-quarters of UN members.
Reports emerged on Wednesday that Hamas co-founder and senior official Sheikh Hassan Yousef praised Australia’s “political courage” and urged other nations to follow its example. He also rejected calls for Hamas to be excluded from future elections or for the Palestinian state to be demilitarised. In response, a government spokesperson urged caution in publicising the words of a listed terrorist organisation, saying Hamas “always tries to manipulate facts for their own propaganda”. The spokesperson added that Australia is supporting Arab League efforts to isolate Hamas.
The opposition has criticised the decision, with shadow foreign minister Michaelia Cash accusing the government of handing Hamas a “massive propaganda victory”. Cash said Albanese should “hang his head in shame” after being praised by a terrorist group that still holds Israeli hostages. Opposition leader Sussan Ley reiterated that a future Coalition government would revoke recognition of a Palestinian state, arguing that Albanese’s justification for the decision had been “turned completely upside down”.
Albanese, speaking in Brisbane, strongly condemned Hamas and insisted the group would be excluded from any future Palestinian state. He noted that the Arab League and the international community had made clear that Hamas must lay down its weapons and have no role in governance. He also stated that one of his pre-conditions for recognition was a demilitarised Palestinian state with no governance role for Hamas.
Experts noted the complexities of the move. Greg Barton, a professor of Islamic politics at Deakin University, said recognition of Palestine was now “completely decoupled” from support for Hamas, which had excluded itself through its actions on 7 October 2023. Shahram Akbarzadeh, a professor of Middle East politics, said the pre-conditions raised “lots of challenges”, chief among them how to deal with Hamas.
