Palestinian Authority says Australia's recognition will encourage other nations to follow

ABC NEWS (Australia)

West Bank residents have welcomed the Australian government’s plan to recognise the Palestinian state but are calling for more countries to follow suit.

Transcript

00:00Word does travel fast when it comes to issues like this one and here in Ramallah about 15

00:07kilometers from Jerusalem on the other side of Israel's wall between Israel and the West Bank

00:13people are certainly aware that Australia has decided to recognize a Palestinian state if they

00:19didn't know the news they are certainly aware of the significance of such a decision even if

00:23many believe it's long overdue. It's amazing we've seen something that we've never seen

00:29before which is more countries are siding with us and seeing the injustice that's happening with our

00:35country and with the people of Gaza. I see the Australian advancement together with many other

00:42countries France that was to be honest the first initiator in this direction this is a good thing

00:47and will bring peace to the region and stability. There is also a sense here that even though a

00:53country such as Australia has decided to recognize Palestinian statehood that more needs to be done

00:58beyond that symbolic gesture at this stage. Why does everything have to sort to war like why is it

01:04always a violent action why can't we just come to an agreement. Palestinians have been here for a long

01:12time we are not waiting to be recognized they recognize us from the outside but if we are not

01:17given a state then we have not benefited. Even though the Albanese government has continued to say that it

01:23is not a big player in this region. The Palestinian foreign minister says this decision by the Albanese

01:29government cannot be understated and Australia has of course demanded that the Palestinian Authority

01:34reform its operations become more democratic so that it is reflective of the community here.

01:39That's something the minister says is underway. The reform is a Palestinian demand. Yes there were conditions

01:47by various countries on reform but as a start it's a Palestinian demand. We want to become better in

01:56terms of how we govern our institutions, how we deal with our money, how we use best practices.

02:02Something the symbolism of this decision by the Albanese government doesn't do is remove some of

02:08the barriers and the restrictions on everyday life here in the occupied West Bank and we're about to

02:14experience one of them now. Coming up to a checkpoint which is closed, not normally even open to the

02:19bulk of the Palestinian population. This is only restricting access to a different part of the

02:24West Bank. We can't get through because it's the wrong time of day and this is reality for the

02:29Palestinian population each and every day. Restrictions on movement affecting their everyday life.

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