QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Prime Minister) (14:09): I thank the member for Boothby for her question. Indeed, Australia welcomes the news that both Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of President Trump's peace plan. In the Middle East, the past two years have been full of dark days.

Today, we see a ray of light. Today, the world has cause for real hope—hope for the families of the hostages, who have kept a two-year vigil that must have felt like an eternity, hope for the people of Gaza, who have endured suffering beyond imagining, and hope that, after eight decades of conflict and terror, we can break this cycle of violence and build something better.

Throughout this devastating conflict, Australia has been consistently part of the international calls for a ceasefire, for the return of hostages and for the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. We have always acknowledged that the leadership of the United States of America, together with the Arab League, is vital to achieving these goals. President Trump's plan proves the truth of that.

We applaud the diplomatic efforts that have been undertaken by the United States and the Arab League—Turkiye, Qatar and Egypt—and the work that has been done to engage with Israel and the Palestinian Authority. I was grateful for the opportunity to discuss these matters with a number of leaders in the United States, the UK and the United Arab Emirates, together with a number of key international partners—three of the Five Eyes states, who recognise the State of Palestine—during that UN leaders week.

There is growing international momentum to bring peace and security to the Middle East, and we must all continue to work together to build on this. As we welcome the agreement on phase 1 of this plan, we reiterate our support for its calls for Hamas to lay down its arms and that Hamas must play no role in the future of Gaza. Importantly, President Trump's plan also rejects the annexation and forced displacement of the Palestinian people, because the only path to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East remains a two-state solution, with the State of Israel and the State of Palestine living side by side within internationally recognised borders in peace and security.