An amendment moved by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and promptly passed, urged Labor to deal with the issue as “an important priority” if it wins government next year.

The final decision on the matter will be taken by Cabinet.

The amendment also reiterated Labor’s stance that Israel and Palestine each have a right to exist as states with “secure and recognised” borders.

“Labor is a friend of the Israelis. I’m a friend of the Israelis. Labor is a friend of the Palestinians. I’m a friend of the Palestinians,” Ms Wong told delegates.

“All who come to this debate do so in the hope of contributing to peace and to a just and lasting resolution.

“We recognise that a just two-state solution will require recognising the right of both the Palestinian and Israeli people to live peacefully.”

Ms Wong praised her colleagues for their “even-handedness” on the issue.

She also slammed Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s sudden intervention on Israel-Palestine policy in the last week before the Wentworth by-election.

Mr Morrison abruptly announced he would consider moving Australia’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognising the holy city as Israel’s capital.

He eventually decided not to move the embassy, and to recognise “West Jerusalem” as the capital.

“In a shameful act five days before the Wentworth by-election, Mr Morrison put his own political interest ahead of the national interest,” Ms Wong said.

“Astonishingly, it was a decision made without consulting either the Israelis or the Palestinians themselves.”

Mr Morrison has denied accusations that his move in the lead-up to the by-election damaged Australia’s interests. Critics argue he antagonised one of our closest neighbours — the world’s largest Muslim nation, Indonesia — and put an important trade deal with the country at risk.

Seconding Ms Wong’s amendment, Tony Burke described Mr Morrison as “the failed advertising guy looking for a new slogan”.

He denied that recognising a Palestinian state would be an “anti-Israel” policy. He said it was “a rejection of some of the hardliners who believe that the occupation of another people can be permanent”.

Mr Burke argued that Australia already recognises governments guilty of human rights abuses, and some that are actively harming our national interests.

“Recognition is the normal approach across the world,” he said. “All these countries, we still recognise.”

Mr Burke criticised recent Israeli policy, claiming two-thirds of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet was on public record saying a Palestinian state would never happen.

He slammed Israel for resorting to violence on its borders, and for continuing to allow settlements to be built on disputed land.

“In recent years, particularly with the growth of settlements, we’ve seen the balance of negotiations shift,” he said.

“People in this room understand the implications of a bargaining table where one side of the table disproportionately already has what it wants.

“We have reached the point where the arguments to wait have become thinner, and the arguments for recognition have become stronger.”

The amendment was part of a broader debate on Labor’s foreign policy platform.

Delegates also voted in favour of committing to sign and ratify the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

“This is a major breakthrough that heralds a more constructive Australian approach to nuclear disarmament. The treaty is our best hope for making meaningful progress in eliminating the world’s worst weapons,” said Gem Romuld, the Australian Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), in response to the commitment.

ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.

“The current government has opposed this treaty based on its misguided belief that US nuclear weapons keep us safe,” Ms Romuld said.

“For most Australians, this is a no-brainer. Nuclear weapons are never an acceptable means of defence.”

Labor has also committed to increase Australia’s international aid budget.

Ms Wong blasted the government for making “unprecedented cuts” to it, saying Mr Morrison, Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott had “caused great harm to some of the poorest people in the world” and harmed Australia’s interests overseas.

“It says a lot about Scott Morrison and his predecessors,” she said.

“They are at odds with the generous spirit of the Australian people.

“Scott Morrison is debasing foreign policy as a political tool.

“There has never been a greater need for Australia to play our role in dealing with the global humanitarian crisis.”