Embassy of the State of Palestine

We discussed the importance of the implementation of our comprehensive bilateral agreement. This treaty goes beyond the formal recognition of the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders: It ratifies our commitment to the freedom of worship and our support for the work of the churches in Palestine, the Holy Land.

In his recent article published in The Spectator, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has suggested that Australia should cut all Australian aid to the Palestinian people, based on the wholly unfounded claim that it is being used by the Palestinian Authority to “pay pensions to terrorists and their families”.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has quickly dismissed a pair of contentious suggestions on Middle East relations from Tony Abbott, who called for the Australian embassy in Israel to be relocated to Jerusalem and for a cut to development aid for the Palestinian Authority because of their financial support for "terrorists...

President Mahmoud Abbas followed with great interest Secretary Kerry’ speech and reiterated his commitment to a just and lasting peace as a strategic option. President Abbas said:

Christmas, a Palestinian call for hope and justice, is a unique message that we have been carrying generation after generation, as a precious treasure that began in Palestine and is celebrated all over the world.

Today, in a momentous United Nations Security Council resolution, the international community has strongly condemned illegal Israeli settlement activity in Palestine.

Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, has warned on Friday that implementation of Donald Trump's pledge to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem would destroy any prospects for peace with Israel.

On 18 December, an Australian Delegation, led by the Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steve Ciobo, visited Palestine to conduct meetings with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and Palestinian Minister of National Economy Abeer Odeh.

PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi strongly denounced the Knesset’s approval of a bill that passed a preliminary reading which would “legalize” the annexation of Palestinian privately owned land and illegal outposts in the occupied West Bank, and said, “Such a bill constitutes a legal travesty.

All Israeli settlements in Occupied Palestine are illegal regardless of any law passed by the Israeli parliament or any decision of an Israeli judge.