Anthony Albanese dodges Sky News questions on demilitarising Hamas thrice days after Palestine recognition pledge
Mr Albanese also refused to lay out a possible roadmap for Hamas' demilitarisation, saying he was not "writing Middle East policy in a backyard here in Brisbane."
Mr Albanese, alongside Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong on Monday, said Australia would formally recognise Palestine in the UN next month. Hamas have since welcomed Mr Albanese's pronouncement as an act of 'political courage'.
During a press conference in Brisbane on Wednesday morning, the Prime Minister was asked by Sky News reporter Kaiser Shields how Australia would enforce its condition for Hamas to 'lay down its weapons' in return for formal recognition of Palestinian statehood.
The Prime Minister failed to explain how demilitarisation was possible.
'The important thing is what the Arab League have said. The Arab League, the countries around the region as well as the international community, have made it very clear - Hamas has no role, no role,' he said.
Mr Albanese was asked the same question again, to which he answered in the same way.
'The Arab League have made it very clear that Hamas must lay down its weapons. The international community have made it very clear that Hamas will have no role in a future Palestinian state,' he said.
The Prime Minister was asked a third time whether he hoped that Hamas would listen to 'diplomatic pressure' from the Arab League to demilitarise.
'There's a range of paths, but we're not writing Middle East policy in a backyard here in Brisbane,' he said.
On Tuesday, Mr Albanese claimed he had assurances from the controversial Palestinian Authority that the terror group would not be involved in governing the territories.
"Hamas is a terrorist organisation. It has no role to play. And Hamas, I've seen some of the comments that have been made about Hamas somehow being rewarded ... This is the opposite of what Hamas wants. Hamas wants one state," Mr Albanese told Today.
Hamas, designated a terror organisation by Australia in 2022, has said it will not disarm until there is a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
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