Statement from President Herzog

(Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson)

President Isaac Herzog this morning (Monday, 11 August 2025), spoke at the inauguration of the new Knesset Museum in Jerusalem, on the site of the Israeli Parliament 1950-1966.

Speaking at the event, the President responded to the announcement by Australia’s Prime Minister, and noted that recognition of a Palestinian state in September would be seen as a reward to terror and would in no way help the Palestinian people or the hostages being brutally held by Hamas in Gaza.

President Herzog said: “I wonder what the Knesset members in those days for example, would have said about the Australian Prime Minister’s intention to recognize a Palestinian state. I have no doubt what Ben-Gurion and Begin, who were on opposite sides of the aisle, would have said together, and I too say here emphatically to the whole world: Israel has always strived, and will always strive, for peace with our neighbors including the Palestinians. When Israel fights cruel terror, it does so for the sake of peace and for the sake of the free world.”

He stressed: “These declarations, by Australia and other countries, are a reward for terror, a prize for the enemies of freedom, liberty, and democracy. This is a grave and dangerous mistake, which will not help a single Palestinian and sadly will not bring back a single hostage.”