Opposition attacks Albanese government for 'badly mismanaging' Israel ties as feud exposes deep divisions over Palestine

Sky News AU

5 hours ago

The federal opposition has accused the Albanese government of mismanaging the Australia-Israel relationship after a spiralling diplomatic row sunk ties to new lows.
Both countries have issued visa cancellations against each other in a tit-for-tat retaliation, after the Albanese government decided to recognise Palestinian statehood.
Israel revoked the visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority, after the Albanese government cancelled an Israeli lawmaker's visa.
Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Michaelia Cash said the decision to cancel the visa of Israeli MP Simcha Rothman had triggered 'escalating diplomatic consequences'.
The federal opposition has accused the Albanese government of mismanaging the Australia-Israel relationship after a spiralling diplomatic row sunk ties to new lows.
'The Albanese government has badly mismanaged this relationship at a time when careful diplomacy is more important than ever,' Ms Cash said.
'Instead of maintaining trust with Israel - one of our closest democratic allies - Labor has recklessly inflamed tensions and undermined Australia's credibility.
The government cancelled Mr Rothman's visa, claiming he made inflammatory remarks that would jeopardise the safety of the Australian Islamic community.
'The Coalition has serious concerns about the Albanese government's reasons for cancelling the visa of Israeli parliamentarian Simcha Rothman,' Ms Cash said.
'It is extraordinary that Home Affairs documents, as reported in the media, reveal the stated reasons for blocking Mr Rothman's entry into Australia was in part his advocacy for the elimination of Hamas.'
The Australian newspaper revealed on Tuesday that Mr Rothman was denied his visa over concerns his presence could spark counter-protests.
Internal Home Affairs documents said his calls to eliminate Hamas would be considered 'inflammatory and concerning', according to the report.
This comes despite the fact that Hamas has been listed as a terrorist organisation responsible for murdering thousands of innocent civilians.
'To suggest that calls for the destruction of Hamas are 'inflammatory' or grounds for visa cancellation is absurd,' Ms Cash said.
She lamented that the government had 'badly mismanaged this relationship at a time when careful diplomacy is more important than ever'.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley also condemned the handling of the issue, saying the rejection of Mr Rothman's visa was 'a very unusual thing'.
'I really regret the way that the relationship between the Albanese government and the government of Israel is deteriorating,' Ms Ley told reporters on Tuesday.
'Israel is a liberal democracy in the Middle East, and we should be supporting them as that liberal democracy.
'It's a very unusual thing to refuse a visa, and I haven't seen explanations from Tony Burke that actually explain what is going on here.'
Ms Ley did not confirm whether she believed Mr Rothman should be allowed into Australia, but said the reasons for his denial need to be made public.
'We need the Minister for Home Affairs to explain… disagreeing with the Albanese government is not a reason to refuse a visa,' she said.
The opposition's attack followed Foreign Minister Penny Wong calling Israel's move to revoke Australian visas as an 'unjustified reaction' to recognising Palestine as a state.
'At a time when dialogue and diplomacy are needed more than ever, the Netanyahu government is isolating Israel,' Ms Wong said on Tuesday.
'This is an unjustified reaction, following Australia's decision to recognise Palestine.'
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar confirmed that the visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority had been revoked.
Like many countries, Australia maintains an embassy to Israel in Tel Aviv and a representative office to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
The row has left Australia more deeply entangled in the Middle Eastern conflict, with both sides trading blame and domestic opinion divided.
Polling for The Sydney Morning Herald showed only 24 per cent of voters supported recognition of Palestine regardless of who held power in Gaza.
Thirty-two per cent favoured waiting until Hamas was removed or Palestine recognised Israel's right to exist.
Forty-four per cent opposed any change to Australia's current position.