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Australian Foreign Minister Criticized for Suggesting Possible Recognition of a Palestinian State

A rainbow appears as displaced Palestinians, who escaped the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, perform Eid al-Fitr prayers next to their tents set up near the Egyptian border, at the Rafah camp in the southern Gaza Strip, 10 April 2024. (EPA)
A rainbow appears as displaced Palestinians, who escaped the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, perform Eid al-Fitr prayers next to their tents set up near the Egyptian border, at the Rafah camp in the southern Gaza Strip, 10 April 2024. (EPA)
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Australian Foreign Minister Criticized for Suggesting Possible Recognition of a Palestinian State

A rainbow appears as displaced Palestinians, who escaped the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, perform Eid al-Fitr prayers next to their tents set up near the Egyptian border, at the Rafah camp in the southern Gaza Strip, 10 April 2024. (EPA)
A rainbow appears as displaced Palestinians, who escaped the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, perform Eid al-Fitr prayers next to their tents set up near the Egyptian border, at the Rafah camp in the southern Gaza Strip, 10 April 2024. (EPA)

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong is facing criticism after she raised the prospect of Australia recognizing a Palestinian state.

Wong said in a speech late Tuesday that recognizing Palestinian statehood could be the only way to end the cycle of violence in the Middle East and build momentum toward a two-state solution amid ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israel. She said Wednesday she wasn’t changing Australia’s position, but was starting a conversation.

“We’ve made no such decision. The discussion I want to have is to look at what is happening in the international community where there is the very important debate about how it is we secure long-lasting peace in a region which has known so much conflict,” Wong told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Wong said Hamas must free hostages and that the armed group would have no place in a Palestinian state. She also said there needed to be an immediate humanitarian ceasefire so that aid could be delivered to Gaza. And she urged Israel not to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah because of the risk to civilians.

Both Australia’s center-left Labor Party government and the conservative opposition parties support a two-party solution in the Middle East.

But opposition spokesperson on foreign affairs Simon Birmingham called it “downright dangerous to reward (Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel) with a fast track to recognition of statehood."

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Erdogan Says Türkiye Can ‘Crush’ All Terrorists in Syria

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference during the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19, 2024. (AFP)
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference during the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19, 2024. (AFP)
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Erdogan Says Türkiye Can ‘Crush’ All Terrorists in Syria

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference during the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19, 2024. (AFP)
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference during the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19, 2024. (AFP)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Wednesday that Türkiye had the power and ability to "crush" all terrorists in Syria, including ISIS and Kurdish militants, while urging all countries to "take their hands off" Syria.

Since last month's fall of Bashar al-Assad, Türkiye has said repeatedly it was time for the Kurdish YPG militia to disband. Ankara considers the group, which spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as a terrorist organization.

Ankara has said the new Syrian administration must be given an opportunity to address the YPG presence, but also threatened to mount a new cross-border operation against the militia based in northeast Syria if its demands are not met.

Speaking in parliament, Erdogan said the YPG was the biggest problem in Syria now, and added that the group would not be able to escape its inevitable end unless it lays down its arms.

"Regarding fabricated excuses like ISIS, these have no convincing side anymore," Erdogan said, referring to the US position that the YPG was a key partner against ISIS in Syria and that it plays a vital role guarding prison camps where the extremist militants are kept.

"If there is really a fear of the ISIS threat in Syria and the region, the biggest power that has the will and power to resolve this issue is Türkiye," he said.

"Everyone should take their hands off Syria and we, along with our Syrian siblings, will crush the heads of ISIS, the YPG and other terrorist organizations in a short time."

Türkiye has repeatedly asked its NATO ally the United States to halt support for the SDF, and has said the new administration in Syria had offered to take over the management of the prisons.