The foreign ministries of Qatar and Saudi Arabia have welcomed the Australian move as well as the announcement by New Zealand that it was considering taking a similar step.

In a statement, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the announcements were a “positive step” that align with significant support for the rights of the Palestinian people, “enabling them to exercise their right to self-determination and establish their independent state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital”.

Saudi Arabia said that the “current stage requires peace-loving countries to recognise the State of Palestine and support efforts to end the protracted war, particularly in light of the ongoing Israeli violations of international law”.