Labor says Hamas tries to ‘manipulate facts' after terrorist group welcomes Australia's Palestine recognition decision
Anthony Albanese announced on Monday that Australia would recognise Palestine at the United Nations next month, joining more than 140 countries – about three-quarters of UN membership – who already recognise a Palestinian state.
The prime minister has said Hamas 'will be excluded from the process' of a future Palestinian state. He also justified Australia's decision to recognise Palestine by saying Hamas would be opposed to the move and a two-state solution, and said one of his pre-conditions for recognition was for a Palestinian state to be demilitarised and grant no governance role to Hamas.
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Nine newspapers reported on Wednesday that the Hamas co-founder and senior official Sheikh Hassan Yousef welcomed Australia's decision to recognise Palestine, praising Australia's 'political courage' and calling on other countries to 'follow Australia's example'.
Nine also reported that Yousef rejected calls to demilitarise or for Hamas to be excluded from future elections.
Responding to Nine's report, a government spokesperson urged caution in publicising the words of a listed terrorist group.
'What Australia has done is contribute international momentum towards a two-state solution, which Hamas opposes. We are supporting the Arab League's efforts to isolate Hamas,' the spokesperson said.
'Hamas always tries to manipulate facts for their own propaganda. Media have a responsibility to make professional judgments to not promote propaganda of terrorist organisations to get cynical headlines.'
The shadow foreign minister, Michaelia Cash, accused the government of handing Hamas a 'massive propaganda victory' in joining the vast majority of global governments in recognising Palestine.
Cash said Albanese should 'hang his head in shame after being praised today by the terrorist group Hamas for his decision to recognise a Palestinian state'.
'Mr Albanese has emboldened a terror group who murder civilians in cold blood and still hold 50 Israeli hostages in tunnels under Gaza. All Australians should be appalled at the massive propaganda victory Mr Albanese has handed Hamas on a platter,' she said.
'Mr Albanese should explain whether he'll still pursue recognition knowing it has the clear endorsement of terrorists.'
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, again pledged a future Coalition government would revoke recognition of a Palestinian state.
'The prime minister said that the reason for his decision was because Hamas would not support it. He used his interpretation of Hamas' position as justification for making a decision, and that is clearly turned completely upside down today, with the Hamas co-founder praising our prime minister for this decision,' she said.
Greg Barton, a professor of Islamic politics at Deakin University, told Sky News that Hamas faced isolation by Arab leaders, but that the group was 'trying to spin that in a different way, you'd expect that'.
'It's now very clear, I think, that the recognition of Palestine is completely decoupled from any support for Hamas,' he said.
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'[Hamas] have excluded themselves from any future because of their actions in the terror attack on 7 October 2023 and the international community have made that very clear.'
Albanese, speaking in Brisbane on Wednesday before the comments were reported, again strongly condemned Hamas.
'The Arab League, the countries around the region, as well as the international community have made it very clear Hamas has no role … The Arab League have made it very clear that Hamas must lay down its weapons,' he said.
Asked about future elections, Albanese said: 'Hamas will be excluded from the process. We've made that very clear ... We exclude terrorists, we exclude Hamas. Very clearly.'
Albanese said on Tuesday that the international community, including critics such as the Arab League, could block Hamas from future governance roles, but did not explain how.
Shahram Akbarzadeh, a professor of Middle East politics at Deakin University, said Australian pre-conditions for recognising Palestine raise 'lots of challenges', chief among them how to deal with Hamas.
He said barring Hamas from a future governing role is 'widely accepted' by Arab leaders, but the 'practicalities' are difficult.
'That's going to be a much harder proposition than disarming Hamas … it will involve a lengthy process of checks and balances,' Akbarzadeh said.
The Israeli embassy in Australia has strongly condemned the government's move. A statement on X, attributed to the ambassador, Amir Maimon, read: 'Rewarding those who use terror as a political tool sends the dangerous message that violence brings political gain.'
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At least 25 killed by Israeli gunfire while seeking aid, say health officials
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Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israel's move led to "additional bureaucratic hurdles, delays, and costs for humanitarian organisations." U.N. agencies were exempted from customs clearance from Egypt from July 27 to Aug. 3, OCHA said in a report, opens new tab on August 6. While not officially extended, the exemption still appeared to be in place, it said. Other international NGOs could be exempted only on a case-by-case basis and only for health items. More than 200 Gazans have died of malnutrition or starvation in the war, according to Palestinian health authorities, adding to the over 61,000 dead they say have been killed by military action. The U.N. human rights office and several expert studies have said the number is probably an undercount. Israel has disputed the Gaza health ministry figures, which do not distinguish between fighters and civilians, and says at least a third of the fatalities are militants. On Monday, COGAT said a review by its medical experts found the number of deaths reported by the Gaza health ministry due to malnutrition was inflated and most of those "allegedly dying from malnutrition" had pre-existing conditions. Drivers coming from Egypt cannot go directly to the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, which had been operated by the Hamas-run border authority but is now closed. Instead, they route to the Israeli crossing of Kerem Shalom, about three km (two miles) to the south, where shipments undergo checks. Kamel Atteiya Mohamed, an Egyptian truck driver, estimated that of the 200 or 300 trucks trying to get through this route every day, only 30 to 50 make it. "They tell you, for example, that the pallet doesn't have a sticker, the pallet is tilted, or the pallet is open from the top. This is no reason for us to return it,' he told Reuters. He said that while the Egyptian crossing was open day and night, drivers often arrived at Kerem Shalom only to find it closed, as it does not normally operate beyond weekday business hours. 'Every day it's like this,' he said. 'Honestly, we're fed up.' While COGAT did not address specific questions about the driver's remarks and allegations of inflexible working hours, it said that "hundreds of truckloads of aid still await collection by the UN and international organizations" on the Palestinian side of the border crossings. A logistics site set up by the Egyptian Red Crescent near El Arish town, 40 km (25 miles) from the border, where shipments coming from Egypt to Gaza are loaded, has a tarp tent warehouse devoted to goods turned back from the border. A Reuters reporter saw rows of white oxygen tanks, as well as wheelchairs, car tires and cartons labelled as containing generators and first-aid kits and with logos of aid groups from countries such as Luxembourg and Kuwait, among others. Reuters was not able to verify when the items at the Red Crescent site were turned back or on what grounds. Aid workers describe such rejections as routine. Speaking at the meeting with the Elders that Reuters attended, one World Food Programme worker said that only 73 of the 400 trucks the agency had sent since July 27 had made it in. U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA has not been allowed to send aid into Gaza since March. The OCHA August 6 report said no shelter materials had been allowed to enter Gaza since March 2 and those available on the local market were "prohibitively expensive and limited in quantity." The WHO employee who works on the border said the truck and trailer seen by Reuters were among three trucks that had been turned back on Sunday. A manifest given for their cargo, seen by Reuters, included urine drainage bags, iodine, plasters and sutures.
