Albanese condemns Israel's Gaza takeover plan and calls humanitarian crisis ‘unacceptable'
The Prime Minister is in New Zealand meeting his counterpart Christopher Luxon for talks that included a discussion of international moves towards recognising the state of Palestine.
Australia joined with the New Zealand, the UK, Germany and Italy to issue a foreign ministers statement on Saturday saying they 'strongly reject' the Israeli security cabinet's decision to launch a fresh military operation in Gaza, warning that it would 'aggravate the catastrophic humanitarian situation, endanger the lives of the hostages, and further risk the mass displacement of civilians'.
Mr Albanese said Australia would make its own decisions in terms of the timing of recognition and the possibility of further sanctions.
'We called for an immediate ceasefire. We called for the release of hostages and we called for the unimpeded entry of aid into Gaza,' he told reporters in New Zealand on Sunday.
'We have a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding there. And the idea that it can just be continued is completely unacceptable.'
Asked whether Australia would impose further sanctions on Israel beyond those already laid against two of its far-right ministers, Mr Albanese said his government would act where it could make a difference, not in response to 'a slogan on a protest'.
Defence Minister Richard Marles echoed the calls for the return of the Israeli hostages and for the flow of aid into Gaza to resume, saying both aims would be helped by a ceasefire.
'All of that is best advanced, in terms of the return of hostages, but also in terms of the flow of humanitarian assistance, if hostilities cease now,' he told ABC's Insiders.
'The blocking of food, the blocking of humanitarian assistance, is a breach of international law, and we are obviously deeply concerned about Israel's role in that and it's why we are really clearly calling for an end to hostilities right now and adding our voice to that of the international community.'
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said pointing out the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe should not be seen as making excuses for Hamas or having sympathy towards the terrorist group.
But he said Israel's plans to fully occupy Gaza would be a breach of international law.
'And if they start doing what they've been doing with the West Bank and have settlers move in, that's a further illegal action under international law,' he told Sky News.
'What we are watching is horrific, and Australia, with that statement yesterday, where we're joining with other nations and just saying this must not happen.'
His shadow minister Andrew Hastie, a former special forces officer, said Israel's plans were 'a very risky proposition' that was likely to result in more military casualties and the prolonging of the humanitarian crisis.
'Certainly, I look at the weight of history, and Gaza has never successfully been occupied and pacified by Israel. So I'm not sure why we expect it to be any different now under Benjamin Netanyahu,' he told Sky News.
'I think we've just got to temper this with realism.'
He said it was 'possible' the planned occupation would breach international law.
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Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Shameful? Israeli PM slams Australia for decision it has not made
He was deliberately provocative in his press conference on Sunday, and it is unlikely to win him the friends Israel needs right now. Netanyahu's criticism of Australia will seem fully justified to his supporters. Albanese is clearly canvassing the idea of recognising a Palestinian state, following other leaders. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on July 31 that it was a matter of 'when, not if' Australia did so – though he added that he was not putting a timeframe on it. Netanyahu made no attempt to be diplomatic in urging Australia to take a different path. Instead, he delivered a slap-down. It is important to put the Israeli leader's remarks in context because he made a serious argument against recognising a Palestinian state. He said this after taking a question from ABC correspondent Matt Doran about calls from Western leaders to recognise a Palestinian state. 'I think we're actually applying force judiciously, and they know it,' he said of the world leaders who are critical of his conduct of the war. He mentioned the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians in October 2023 and drew a parallel with Australia. Loading 'They know what they would do if, right next to Melbourne or right next to Sydney, you had this horrific attack. I think you would do at least what we're doing – probably maybe not as efficiently and as precisely as we're doing it.' Netanyahu's critics will debate just how 'efficiently' the Israel Defence Forces are killing and wounding civilians in pursuit of Hamas. The point here is that he framed his words with Australia in mind. 'Today, most of the Jewish public is against the Palestinian state for the simple reason that they know it won't bring peace, it will bring war,' he said. 'To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole, just like that – fall right into it – and buy this canard, is disappointing. And I think it's actually shameful,' he said. 'But it's not going to take, it's not going to change our position. We will not commit national suicide to get a good op-ed for two minutes. We won't do that.' Unanswered questions There are serious arguments against recognising a Palestinian state at this point. What would this state look like? The borders are contested and overrun by war at present. The leadership is unknown. The dominant fighting force in a large part of the territory, Hamas, is a terrorist group. The key condition for the existence of this state, at least in Western diplomacy, is that it accepts Israel's right to exist and does not threaten Israel's security. This means European leaders are choosing to recognise Palestine before they can be sure it meets this condition. Loading The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, is on record wanting 'peace, stability and security' between Palestine and Israel as separate states. There were reports at the weekend that he would declare a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly when it meets in September. Western leaders assume Abbas could lead a Palestinian state. Several have spoken to him in recent days – including Albanese last Wednesday. The debate on recognising a Palestinian state depends heavily on Abbas sending a strong message about coexistence with Israel. The obvious challenge is that Abbas has authority over the West Bank, as chairman of Fatah, the largest group within the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, but he cannot speak for others. Hamas won 44.45 per cent of the vote in the 2006 election that led it to take control of Gaza. And it is dedicated to the destruction of Israel. Peaceful coexistence may seem a bitter joke to the people of Gaza after more than 60,000 civilian deaths in less than two years. Witnesses to the war have told this masthead about the indiscriminate casualties, the starvation, the flattening of homes and the restrictions on medical aid. Nations such as Britain, France and Canada have avoided recognising a Palestinian state at other times, but the war is so horrific that this symbolic recognition is presented as urgent and necessary. It is being used to put pressure on Netanyahu over the scale of the war and the terrible suffering of civilians. As a road map to peace, however, it is only a sketch. Netanyahu has been losing support in Western nations for months because of the sheer ferocity of his war policy. There was nothing in his remarks on Sunday that will prevent him losing Australia as well.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Australia news LIVE: Netanyahu blasts Australia over Palestine recognition push; Reserve Bank to meet ahead of expected rate cut
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The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Shameful? Israeli PM slams Australia for decision it has not made
He was deliberately provocative in his press conference on Sunday, and it is unlikely to win him the friends Israel needs right now. Netanyahu's criticism of Australia will seem fully justified to his supporters. Albanese is clearly canvassing the idea of recognising a Palestinian state, following other leaders. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on July 31 that it was a matter of 'when, not if' Australia did so – though he added that he was not putting a timeframe on it. Netanyahu made no attempt to be diplomatic in urging Australia to take a different path. Instead, he delivered a slap-down. It is important to put the Israeli leader's remarks in context because he made a serious argument against recognising a Palestinian state. He said this after taking a question from ABC correspondent Matt Doran about calls from Western leaders to recognise a Palestinian state. 'I think we're actually applying force judiciously, and they know it,' he said of the world leaders who are critical of his conduct of the war. He mentioned the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians in October 2023 and drew a parallel with Australia. Loading 'They know what they would do if, right next to Melbourne or right next to Sydney, you had this horrific attack. I think you would do at least what we're doing – probably maybe not as efficiently and as precisely as we're doing it.' Netanyahu's critics will debate just how 'efficiently' the Israel Defence Forces are killing and wounding civilians in pursuit of Hamas. The point here is that he framed his words with Australia in mind. 'Today, most of the Jewish public is against the Palestinian state for the simple reason that they know it won't bring peace, it will bring war,' he said. 'To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole, just like that – fall right into it – and buy this canard, is disappointing. And I think it's actually shameful,' he said. 'But it's not going to take, it's not going to change our position. We will not commit national suicide to get a good op-ed for two minutes. We won't do that.' Unanswered questions There are serious arguments against recognising a Palestinian state at this point. What would this state look like? The borders are contested and overrun by war at present. The leadership is unknown. The dominant fighting force in a large part of the territory, Hamas, is a terrorist group. The key condition for the existence of this state, at least in Western diplomacy, is that it accepts Israel's right to exist and does not threaten Israel's security. This means European leaders are choosing to recognise Palestine before they can be sure it meets this condition. Loading The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, is on record wanting 'peace, stability and security' between Palestine and Israel as separate states. There were reports at the weekend that he would declare a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly when it meets in September. Western leaders assume Abbas could lead a Palestinian state. Several have spoken to him in recent days – including Albanese last Wednesday. The debate on recognising a Palestinian state depends heavily on Abbas sending a strong message about coexistence with Israel. The obvious challenge is that Abbas has authority over the West Bank, as chairman of Fatah, the largest group within the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, but he cannot speak for others. Hamas won 44.45 per cent of the vote in the 2006 election that led it to take control of Gaza. And it is dedicated to the destruction of Israel. Peaceful coexistence may seem a bitter joke to the people of Gaza after more than 60,000 civilian deaths in less than two years. Witnesses to the war have told this masthead about the indiscriminate casualties, the starvation, the flattening of homes and the restrictions on medical aid. Nations such as Britain, France and Canada have avoided recognising a Palestinian state at other times, but the war is so horrific that this symbolic recognition is presented as urgent and necessary. It is being used to put pressure on Netanyahu over the scale of the war and the terrible suffering of civilians. As a road map to peace, however, it is only a sketch. Netanyahu has been losing support in Western nations for months because of the sheer ferocity of his war policy. There was nothing in his remarks on Sunday that will prevent him losing Australia as well.
