logo
Netanyahu brands Australian PM Albanese 'weak' over Palestinian state recognition

Netanyahu brands Australian PM Albanese 'weak' over Palestinian state recognition

MELBOURNE: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday brushed off accusations from his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu that the Australian leader is a weak politician who had betrayed Israel by recognising a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu's extraordinary public rebuke came after an August 11 announcement by Albanese that his government's recognition of a Palestinian state will be formalised at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
The announcement was followed by tit-for-tat cancellations of Australian and Israeli visas.
History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews, Yetanyahu posted on social media Tuesday. Albanese responded pointedly Wednesday: I treat leaders of other countries with respect.
"I engage with them in a diplomatic way. I don't take these things personally", Albanese said.
Increasingly there is global concern because people want to see an end to the cycle of violence that we have seen for far too long. That is what Australians want to see as well.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Israel Wants Total Control Of Gaza. Then Why Did It Withdraw Troops 20 Years Ago?
Israel Wants Total Control Of Gaza. Then Why Did It Withdraw Troops 20 Years Ago?

News18

timean hour ago

  • News18

Israel Wants Total Control Of Gaza. Then Why Did It Withdraw Troops 20 Years Ago?

Israel had once withdrew its military presence from Gaza, though it maintained strict control over its airspace, maritime access and border crossings Israel is once again moving ground forces into Gaza. The military said that its troops have taken control of the outskirts of Gaza City and are consolidating positions in neighbourhoods like Zaitoon and Jabalia. The stated aim is to dismantle Hamas' military infrastructure, not to reoccupy the territory permanently. Still, the advance has revived old debates, because Israel had once left Gaza behind, almost two decades ago. The operation comes at a time when Israel finds itself fighting on two fronts: in Gaza against Hamas and in a shadow conflict with Iran, where missile and drone exchanges have raised fears of escalation. For now, that front is quiet, but Israeli officials say the Gaza campaign is entering a decisive phase. Gaza has been ruled by empire after empire. Until 1917 it belonged to the Ottoman Empire, which had dominated vast swathes of the Middle East for centuries. After World War I, the British took control, holding the city until the creation of Israel in 1948. When the State of Israel was declared, Gaza fell into Egyptian hands. Israel had always claimed Gaza as part of its territory. In 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israeli forces defeated Egypt and captured the Strip. For nearly four decades, Israel maintained settlements and military bases there. The Intifadas And The Cost Of Occupation Palestinian resentment grew, exploding in 1987 with the First Intifada, a grassroots uprising against Israeli rule. Violent clashes, strikes and protests continued until the early 1990s. Despite unrest, Israel retained control of the 41-kilometre-long, densely populated territory. By 2005, the burden of maintaining settlements in Gaza had become unsustainable. Nearly two million Palestinians lived in the Strip, compared with only about 9,000 Jewish settlers. Protecting those enclaves required enormous military resources and exposed soldiers and civilians alike to repeated attacks during the Second Intifada. Then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced a 'unilateral disengagement plan". Israel evacuated all settlements and withdrew its military presence from Gaza, though it maintained strict control over its airspace, maritime access and border crossings. Why Israel Pulled Out Three reasons were cited at the time. First was security – it had become costly and dangerous to defend isolated settlements amid ongoing Palestinian attacks. Second was the peace process where Sharon argued withdrawal might reduce tensions and open space for negotiations. Third was demographics when the presence of a small Israeli community inside a territory of millions of Palestinians had become a political liability at home. Many Israelis supported the move, hoping it would ease conflict. But events unfolded differently. The Rise Of Hamas In 2007, Hamas seized power in Gaza after defeating rival Palestinian factions. Israel responded with a sweeping blockade, restricting movement of goods and people. While Israel argued the blockade was necessary to prevent weapons smuggling, Palestinians described it as collective punishment. The blockade devastated Gaza's economy and fuelled humanitarian crises. From then on, clashes between Hamas and Israel grew frequent, erupting into wars in 2008, 2014, and most recently, the ongoing conflict. Now, Israeli tanks and infantry are once again at Gaza's gates. A military spokesperson says the operation's objective is 'to destroy Hamas' ability to govern and wage war". Tens of thousands of reserve soldiers have been called up. tags : gaza hamas israel view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: August 21, 2025, 15:24 IST News world Israel Wants Total Control Of Gaza. Then Why Did It Withdraw Troops 20 Years Ago? | Explained Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Loading comments...

Israel maintains military pressure on Gaza City ahead of planned offensive
Israel maintains military pressure on Gaza City ahead of planned offensive

Indian Express

timean hour ago

  • Indian Express

Israel maintains military pressure on Gaza City ahead of planned offensive

The Israeli military maintained its pressure on Gaza City with heavy bombardments overnight, residents said, ahead of a Thursday meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers on plans to seize the enclave's largest city. The military a day earlier called up 60,000 reservists in a sign that the government was pressing ahead with the plan, despite international condemnation. Although one military official said that most reservists would not serve in combat and that the strategy to take Gaza City had not yet been finalised. Calling up tens of thousands of reservists is also likely to take weeks, giving time for mediators to attempt to bridge gaps over a new temporary ceasefire proposal that Hamas has accepted, but the Israeli government is yet to officially respond to. The proposal calls for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 living hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas militants and of 18 bodies. In turn, Israel would release about 200 long-serving Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The Israeli government has restated that all of the remaining 50 hostages held by militants in Gaza must be released at once. Israeli officials believe that around 20 of them are still alive. GAZA CITY SEIZURE Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with some cabinet ministers on Thursday to discuss his plan to seize Gaza City, according to Haaretz and other Israeli media, without giving more details. The plan was approved this month by the security cabinet, which he chairs, even though many of Israel's closest allies have urged the government to reconsider. Netanyahu is under pressure from some far-right members of his coalition to reject a temporary ceasefire and instead to continue the war and pursue the annexation of the territory. In Gaza City, thousands of Palestinians have left their homes as Israeli forces have escalated shelling on the Sabra and Tuffah neighbourhoods. Some families have left for shelters along the coast, while others have moved to central and southern parts of the enclave, according to residents there. 'We are facing a bitter-bitter situation, to die at home or leave and die somewhere else, as long as this war continues, survival is uncertain,' said Rabah Abu Elias, 67, a father of seven. 'In the news, they speak about a possible truce, on the ground, we only hear explosions and see deaths. To leave Gaza City or not isn't an easy decision to make,' he told Reuters by phone. Israeli tanks have been edging closer to densely populated Gaza City over the past ten days. Israeli officials have said evacuation notices would be issued to Palestinians there before the military moves in. Two more people have died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said on Thursday. The new deaths raised the number of Palestinians who have died from such causes to 271, including 112 children, since the war began.

18 Microsoft Employees Arrested During Protest Over Israel Military Ties
18 Microsoft Employees Arrested During Protest Over Israel Military Ties

NDTV

time2 hours ago

  • NDTV

18 Microsoft Employees Arrested During Protest Over Israel Military Ties

Police officers arrested 18 people at worker-led protests at Microsoft headquarters Wednesday as the tech company promises an "urgent" review of the Israeli military's use of its technology during the ongoing war in Gaza. Two consecutive days of protest at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington called for the tech giant to immediately cut its business ties with Israel. But unlike Tuesday, when about 35 protesters occupying a plaza between office buildings left after Microsoft asked them to leave, the protesters on Wednesday "resisted and became aggressive" after the company told police they were trespassing, according to the Redmond Police Department. The protesters also splattered red paint resembling the color of blood over a landmark sign that bears the company logo and spells Microsoft in big gray letters. "We said, 'Please leave or you will be arrested,' and they chose not to leave so they were detained," said police spokesperson Jill Green. Microsoft late last week said it was tapping a law firm to investigate allegations reported by British newspaper The Guardian that the Israeli Defense Forces used Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform to store phone call data obtained through the mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. "Microsoft's standard terms of service prohibit this type of usage," the company said in a statement posted Friday, adding that the report raises "precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review." In February, The Associated Press revealed previously unreported details about the tech giant's close partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, with military use of commercial artificial intelligence products skyrocketing by nearly 200 times after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. The AP reported that the Israeli military uses Azure to transcribe, translate and process intelligence gathered through mass surveillance, which can then be cross-checked with Israel's in-house AI-enabled targeting systems. Following The AP's report, Microsoft acknowledged the military applications but said a review it commissioned found no evidence that its Azure platform and artificial intelligence technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza. Microsoft did not share a copy of that review or say who conducted it. Microsoft said it will share the latest review's findings after it's completed by law firm Covington & Burling. The promise of a second review was insufficient for the employee-led No Azure for Apartheid group, which for months has protested Microsoft's supplying the Israeli military with technology used for its war against Hamas in Gaza. The group said Wednesday the technology is "being used to surveil, starve and kill Palestinians." Microsoft in May fired an employee who interrupted a speech by CEO Satya Nadella to protest the contracts, and in April, fired two others who interrupted the company's 50th anniversary celebration. On Tuesday, the protesters posted online a call for what they called a "worker intifada," using language evoking the Palestinian uprisings against Israeli military occupation that began in 1987. On Wednesday, the police department said it took 18 people into custody "for multiple charges, including trespassing, malicious mischief, resisting arrest, and obstruction." It wasn't clear how many were Microsoft employees. No injuries were reported. Microsoft said in a statement after the arrests that it "will continue to do the hard work needed to uphold its human rights standards in the Middle East, while supporting and taking clear steps to address unlawful actions that damage property, disrupt business or that threaten and harm others." (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store