Australia’s announcement comes as Canada, France and the United Kingdom are preparing to formally recognise Palestine at the meeting next month, joining the vast majority of UN member states. It also comes about a week after hundreds of thousands of Australians marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to protest Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the decision, while Australian Jewish and Palestinian groups expressed differing views on its impact.

Australia will formally recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly next month, joining a growing list