The Squiz

Foreign Minister Penny Wong is sticking to her guns over comments she made on Tuesday night that go to the contentious heart of the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestinians. She said a 2-state solution is “the pathway to a peace that is enduring and just”. And to do that, she acknowledged that “the international community is now considering the question of Palestinian statehood as a way of building momentum towards a 2-state solution.” 

I’m so lost… 

Fair enough. The ‘2-state solution’ concept has a complicated history, but essentially, it would see Palestine recognised by the world as its own state and would give Palestinians ownership/control of land in the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the West Bank. In the here and now, the scale of this current war between Israel and Hamas has brought the proposal to the forefront again… And yesterday, Wong reiterated her position, saying she believes “ultimately, peace [and] security for Israel will only be achieved if we have a Palestinian state alongside the Israeli state”. That echoes similar recent comments from officials from the UK, the US, and an ongoing push from the United Nations. But the Coalition is against it. Foreign Affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said Palestinian statehood would be a “reward” for Hamas’s “barbaric conduct”. And last night, leader Peter Dutton said Wong had “irreparably damaged our relations” with Israel.

So what’s going to happen?

Look, it’s one of the longest enduring/toughest questions in geopolitics… Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected the idea – as recently as January, he pushed back against the suggestion from Israel’s key ally, US President Joe Biden. But one thing is for sure – as the civilian death toll in Gaza rises, Netanyahu prepares for a new ground invasion, and ceasefire negotiations continue, international support for Israel’s war against Hamas is sliding. During an interview on Tuesday, Biden made some of his strongest comments to date, saying “I think what [Netanyahu’s] doing is a mistake. I don’t agree with his approach”.