Inas also would not share her surname because of security concerns, afraid she would be targeted for speaking to a journalist.
“First and foremost, we want to stop the war, destruction, genocide and starvation. We must stop the bleeding and stitch the wound before any cosmetic procedure,” she said.
“Later, establishing the state is a goal of every citizen, in order to live a dignified life on their land. This is what every person, every citizen in Gaza is thinking right now. Stop the genocide.”
Inas added to her comments in a text message sent over WhatsApp, where she described the move as being “nothing more than beautiful words”.
“Recognising Palestine is an important symbolic step, but on its own, it doesn’t change the reality on the ground.
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“What truly matters is ending the occupation, stopping the aggression, ensuring full sovereignty and freedom for the Palestinian people, securing the right of return for refugees, protecting holy sites, and delivering real international justice.
“Without concrete action, recognition remains nothing more than beautiful words without real impact.”
Saadi Abdo used to own a shop selling hummus and foul (a breakfast dish of mashed fava beans) in Khan Yunis before Israel’s invasion and bombardment of Gaza.
He struggled to get his WhatsApp messages out to this masthead between power and internet outages in the enclave, which have come at the same time as broader restrictions on food, fuel and resources.
In Arabic, he said the move to recognise a Palestinian state was “not enough”.
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“The words that come from the Australian government are not enough. We request instead that Australia end all dealings with the Israeli military, and the Israeli government and all its supporters,” Abdo said.
The move to recognise a potential Palestinian state was described by Albanese as an attempt at “peace” and to “break the cycle of violence in the Middle East”. Albanese has also said an important factor in his recognition decision was Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ commitment to hold elections soon and “the isolation and opposition to Hamas playing any role in a future Palestinian state”.
Israel has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, among them mostly women and children, as well as 237 journalists, according to Gaza Health Ministry officials. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denies there is a policy of starvation in Gaza.
The Israeli military campaign has left much of the territory in ruins. Israel’s campaign began after the October 7, 2023, attack, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killed about 1200 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
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Ramia Sultan, a Palestinian-Australian lawyer and community advocate, who is connected to both Inas and Dr Ahmed, and many of her family and friends in Gaza, said news of Australia’s recognition of Palestinian statehood was met with hope for further action.
She said people had told her they appreciated Australia’s move, but hoped it would become a launchpad for further measures that could materially help them.
“It’s a spark of hope, but they’re expecting that there is action to follow, immediate action, because we have to remember every single day that we delay necessary action, it means a few thousand other Palestinians are going to die.”
She said recognition was seen as “somewhat, sort of acknowledging that there’s an issue”, but wasn’t seen as addressing the conditions in Gaza.
“There’s a lot of disappointment in that the action is not as strong of a stance as you would expect. That’s where the disappointment is from the people of Gaza, specifically.”
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