While most of the world is calling for a two-state solution, Pacific nations are going against the tide on the Israel-Palestine issue, and one international politics expert believes their position risks undermining the principle of self-determination.
Last month, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine, with most of the Pacific Island countries choosing to either reject or remain silent.
The official vote came in with 142 members supporting it, 10 against it - including Israel - and 12 members abstaining. The Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon called the declaration "one-sided" ahead of the vote, saying it was "another hollow gesture that weakens" the UNGA's credibility.
Palau was among the five Pacific countries in opposition, alongside Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, Nauru and Tonga.
Those listening to Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr's address to the UN Assembly this month though could be forgiven for thinking he'd vote in the exact opposite way
"We believe that a durable solution, one that envisions two peoples, Israelis and Palestinians, living in two Democratic states side by side in peace and in dignity and security within mutually recognized borders, is essential for lasting peace."
Whipps Jr wasn't the only one who raised eyebrows over a lack of consistency.
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr at the UN General Assembly. Photo: UN Photo
Fiji Prime Mininster Sitiveni Rabuka, who has been a strong supporter of Israel, was among four Pacific nations who either abstained from voting or did not register a vote.
"We cannot be talking about ending the war without guaranteeing Israel its right to peaceful existence. For peace, we collectively have a responsibility to seeing this is done. Anything short is hypocrisy on our part.
Rabuka said the cost of building peace is usually high, yet the cost of its absence is higher. Fiji went on to abstain from the vote.
Standing against the tide were the Solomon Islands and the Marshall Islands, voting for the resolution alongside Australia and New Zealand.
Solomons Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele decried what he saw as a general trend towards war and militarisation.
"The world is now over-armed, spending less on development and [has] increasingly adopted a militarized posture,"
Going forward, the conflict and proposal for a two-state solution will remain a huge talking point, particularly as leaders return home from the UN in New York.
A supporter of Israel holds an Israeli flag in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, on 8 October. Photo: JULIA NIKHINSON / AFP
Evangelism driving support for Israel - academic
University of the Sunshine Coast's senior lecturer Dr Shannon Brincat said the conflict poses deep questions which cut across geopolitics, religion and human rights.
For him, the assumed position might have been the opposite, based on the region's colonial history.
"The Pacific nations have historically expressed strong positions on things like self determination, colonialism, indigenous rights... this would tend to suggest that Palestinian self determination is something they will be supportive of.
"But I've been tracking at least since 10 to 15 years ago, there's been a marked decrease in support for that, especially on the specific issue of Palestine. It sort of goes against common sense."
The point of difference, Dr Brincat said, is the Pacific's deep religious roots.
"What I've found is that it's actually religious claims that are one of the primary causes behind this shift, widespread entrance of Evangelical churches across the Pacific, which hold a specific theology around Christian Zionism."
On that point, Dr Brincat said the Solomon Islands were trending towards a foreign policy independent of their neighbours.
"[They] started off with the with the security arrangements with China, which came as a somewhat of a shock in the other Pacific states, in the Pacific.. you see the same demographic changes within the basis of of church groups and and believers in that state, so there are debates going on there."
He said Pacific nations must think carefully about the long-term implications of going against a two-state solution when there are clear similarities between the challenges facing Palestinian people and Pacific communities.
