Benjamin Netanyahu expresses desire to move towards full-scale occupation of Gaza
Israel's Foreign Minister is visiting the United Nations, where he accused many nations of giving Hamas an incentive to continue the war.
Warning: Distressing footage.
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Perth Now
26 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Albo won't consult Trump on Palestine issue
Anthony Albanese has indicated he will not consult Donald Trump ahead of deciding whether Australia will stand with western allies to recognise Palestinian statehood. The decision could occur as soon as September when the Prime Minister attends the United Nations General Assembly, with the United Kingdom, France and Canada publicly stating their intention formally recognise Palestine there. Speaking from Melbourne, the Mr Albanese was asked whether he would 'talk to Donald Trump before (making) the decision about Palestinian recognition'. In response, Mr Albanese said: 'We're a sovereign government, and Australia makes decisions on behalf of the Australian government'. It was the same answer he gave when asked whether he feared Australia recognising a Palestinian State, a view not held by the US, would 'complicate an already complicated relationship' with the US President. Anthony Albanese said Australia will make its own decision as to whether it will recognise Palestinian statehood. NewsWire / Valeriu Campan Credit: News Corp Australia As it stands, Mr Albanese has yet to confirm whether Australia will join UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in officially recognising Palestinian statehood, following growing international condemnation of Israel for blocking aid and food shipments to Gazan civilians. Mr Albanese's comments rejecting a call with Mr Trump on Palestinian statehood also follows calls with Mr Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. Mr Albanese says Australia would only move to recognise Palestine in order to progress the two-state solution, which would require a ceasefire, the surrendering of Hamas and the release of Israeli hostages captured on October 7, 2023. First reported on Sunday, Mr Albanese is also currently seeking a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong saying it was 'important for us to put our view very clearly at the most senior levels of the government'. This comes as Mr Albanese spoke to Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas overnight on Tuesday, where they discussed Australia's desires for an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages. 'Prime Minister Albanese also reinforced Australia's commitment to a two-state solution because a just and lasting peace depends upon it,' read a statement from the Prime Minister's office. 'The leaders discussed deepening co-operation across a range of areas, and agreed to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.'
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
ABC allowed inside Gaza
Sabra Lane: For the first time since the Israel-Gaza war started nearly two years ago, the Israeli military has allowed our Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran inside Gaza. He was allowed to travel with one of the Israeli military's aid deliveries at Kerem Shalom in southern Gaza. For months now, we've been hearing about the humanitarian crisis in the Strip, with people starving to death. Another five have died, according to local health authorities. They say another 20 were killed when a crowd of desperate people swarmed to greet aid trucks. Matthew Doran filed this report. Matthew Doran: Climbing into the back of an Israel Defence Forces SUV, our driver across the high security border into Gaza is listening to Galgalatz, one of the army radio stations. Janice Joplin is trickling through the speakers. It's only a short journey to our destination, and this is a place Israel wants the world to see. Past one gate, over a dirt road, and through another gate set in the massive fence line, and we enter something of a no-man's land. It's just mounds of dirt and rubbish here, and the occasional stray dog. There's a pair of United Nations vehicles parked up ahead, near a line of large trucks, a couple have bullet holes in their windscreens, and some are still fully laden with supplies. There are flags of many Arab nations on these pallets, Jordan, the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. One trailer is covered with the gold stars of the European Union. As we drive along, the wind kicks up dust, at first brown and beige from the sand, but occasionally it turns white as we drive over piles of flour, spilt from sacks which have fallen by the roadside. At the end of the dirt road, the area opens up into a large enclosure, itself fenced off from the rest of the area. There's row upon row of pallets carrying everything from tomatoes to toilet paper, sunflower oil to toothpaste. The depot isn't as full as it was just a week ago, as more trucks inside Gaza have been able to get here to pick up the supplies, taking advantage of secure corridors provided by the IDF. But the backlog is still there. Israel is holding this site up as evidence it is trying to feed the Gazan population, but aid agencies say there are large holes in that argument. The IDF says the UN and other organisations are failing to take the food and other essential items here and distribute them through the strip. In turn, the humanitarians argue they've tried to do that for months, but it's been too dangerous. The World Food Programme, for example, says that before the aid restrictions were partially eased a week and a half ago, Israel only approved just over half of the 138 requests it made in one week to drive convoys to sites like this one. When those missions did get the green light, it sometimes took up to 46 hours for the convoys to travel through the strip due to significant delays. And Gaza isn't a big place. It's less than 50 kilometres north to south. This is the first time the ABC has gained access inside Gaza's borders with the IDF since the start of the war, and it's highly controlled and choreographed. We're being kept far away from the devastation on the ground. What was once the city of Rafah is just a short distance away, behind another fence line, and we can hear shelling from time to time. The IDF has also invited some Israeli social media influencers on this trip to try to push their case. But as images of starvation spread around the world and the death toll rises, this is a PR campaign Israel is losing as it stands accused of causing this crisis. This is Matthew Doran at the Kerim Shalom crossing, reporting for AM. Sabra Lane: The United Nations says the situation in Gaza is disastrous. Farhan Haq is the spokesman for the UN Secretary General. Farhan Haq: The situation is beyond catastrophic. Hospitals are overstretched. Patients are lying on the floor or in the streets, suffering as beds, medical supplies and equipment are severely lacking. Yesterday, emergency medical teams were denied entry into Gaza. The World Health Organization tells us that more than 100 health professionals, including surgeons and other specialised medical staff, have been barred from entry since March this year. Sabra Lane: UN Secretary General spokesman Farhan Haq.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Failing to recognise Palestinian state 'rewards' Israel
Failing to recognise a Palestinian state would reward the Israeli government for its "campaign of genocidal violence", a former ambassador to Israel has warned, as Australia considers its next diplomatic moves. Australia has begun co-ordinating with other nations on the issue as France, Canada and the UK prepare to recognise the state of Palestine at a United Nations meeting in September amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Though the federal government has said recognition is a matter of "when, not if", it has been hesitant to commit to a deadline and the coalition has raised concerns such an action could be seen as a reward for designated terrorist organisation Hamas. But Australia's former ambassador to Israel Peter Rodgers dismissed such arguments as "nonsensical", noting there were "nasty people" on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides. "Not recognising a Palestinian state rewards Israel," he told ABC radio on Thursday. "It rewards the government of Benjamin Netanyahu for ethnic cleansing and apartheid in the West Bank. "We need to be very careful of pointing the finger in one direction and forgetting what's going on, on the other side." A genocide case has been brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which is yet to rule on the matter, but Mr Netanyahu's office called the allegations "false and outrageous" and his government has repeatedly claimed it only targets Hamas and not civilians. More than 50,000 children have been killed or injured by Israel since October 2023, UNICEF said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the recognition of Palestine would need to guarantee Hamas played no role in the future nation, and Foreign Minister Penny Wong has repeatedly emphasised the Palestinian Authority has condemned and sought to distance themselves from the terrorist group. Hamas has effectively governed Gaza since violently defeating the political party Fatah, which now controls the Palestinian Authority that exercises partial civil control in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority is currently "pretty useless", Mr Rodgers said, but recognition could provide an avenue for change. "There is an opportunity to work with other Palestinians, to work towards reforming the Palestinian Authority ... giving it meaningful power," he said. Mr Albanese spoke with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, when he reiterated Australia's commitment to a two-state solution in the Middle East that would allow Palestine and Israel to co-exist, before discussing the two-state solution with French President Emmanuel Macron. "The entire international community is distressed by what we're seeing happening in Gaza," he told reporters in Melbourne. "We want to see commitments from the Palestinian Authority - commitments of their governance (and) reforms." More than two million people in Gaza are now facing high levels of food insecurity, United Nations sources have found. Israel denies there is starvation in the besieged strip despite international human rights groups decrying its offensive in Gaza and attributing deaths to starvation. Mr Rodgers was one of many former Australian diplomats who signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, which is being circulated on social media, calling on Australia to urgently recognise a state of Palestine. More than 140 of the 193 UN member states already recognise the state of Palestine, including European Union member states Spain and Ireland. Violence in Gaza reignited after Hamas killed 1200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages on October 7, 2023. Israel's military response has since killed 60,000 people, according to local health authorities. Opposition home affairs spokesman Andrew Hastie has taken issue with pro-Palestine protests. Tens of thousands of Australians took part in pro-Palestine protests over the weekend, including at least 90,000 who rallied at the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and both Students for Palestine and the National Union of Students have called for students to walk out of class on Thursday as part of a demonstration. Opposition home affairs spokesman Andrew Hastie has taken issue with domestic protests. "This is Australia. Not the Middle East," he said in an interview with Sky News posted on his social media.
