Calls for Albanese government to clarify its stance on Palestinian statehood

Shadow Foreign Minister Simon Birmingham has called for the Albanese government to clarify its stance on Palestinian statehood. Mr Birmingham claimed the government this week had created “immense confusion” over its stance on Israel and Palestine and a two-state solution. "The real questions for Penny Wong and Anthony Albanese to answer are whether they are proposing to shift Australia's policy from a negotiated two-state solution to a unilateral recognition for the state of Palestine,” Mr Birmingham told Sky News Australia. "And if they are doing so, whether that means they would undertake that unilateral recognition ahead of a negotiated settlement. "We've got a decades-long position in Australia of supporting a negotiated two-state solution, that is based on our strong recognition that the democratic state of Israel, a friend to Australia, has a right to exist.”