Tense moment ABC's Sarah Ferguson shuts down Israeli ambassador to Australia with cutting remark
Amir Maimon appeared on the public broadcaster's flagship 7.30 program during which he was grilled over the suffering of civilians in Gaza, refuting figures quoted by Ferguson, but being unable to provide his own.
'Do you accept that 100 children in Gaza have died of starvation in recent months? Do you accept those statistics?' Ferguson asked.
Mr Maimon sidestepped answering the question.
'I'm following the statistics of the Israeli authorities. The statistics of COGAT,' he said.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) is an Israeli authority tasked with overseeing policy in the West Bank and logistical activities in the Gaza Strip.
'I'm aware there are other views, like in any other issue, but I'm following the statistics of COGAT and I just share with you some of the statistics.'
Ferguson then interrupted him.
'Ambassador, you mentioned COGAT,' Ferguson pressed.
'Excuse me, how many children do they say have died from starvation in recent months?'
The ambassador then replied: 'I don't have the figures'.
'Well you can't push back on these figures if you don't have any of you own.'
The figures Ferguson quoted were from the Gaza Health Ministry.
'Well, I have no figures, but I can push back on the fact Israeli hostages that did not receive humanitarian aid since October 7th, nor a visit from any of the organizations that are responsible to assist those who are in need.'
Israeli authorities have repeatedly denied Palestinians in Gaza are starving or that they have stemmed the flow of aid into the region.
There have also been claims that Hamas had been looting the aid that did get through.
Ferguson also pointed out that: 'Israeli defense officials speaking to the New York Times said clearly that the Israeli military had not found evidence that Hamas had looted aid from the convoys.'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced Australia will join allies such as France, the UK and Canada and recognise Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September.
'Australia will recognise the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own,' the prime minister told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
'A two-state solution is humanity's best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza.'
The prime minister said Palestinian recognition was part of international efforts to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.
Any recognition would need to guarantee that the designated terror group Hamas, which de facto governs Gaza, played no role in its future government, the prime minister said.
The prime minister said the international community had to act.
'This is about much more than drawing a line on a map. This is about delivering a lifeline to the people of Gaza,' he said.
'The toll of the status quo is growing by the day, and it can be measured in innocent lives.
'The world cannot wait for success to be guaranteed.'
But Palestinian recognition could be used as a 'veneer' that allows Israel to 'continue brutalising Palestinians with no consequences', Australia Palestine Advocacy Network's president Nasser Mashni warned.
'What I want today is for Palestinians not to be slaughtered, what I want as an Australian is our government not to be complicit in that slaughter ... for Palestinians like myself to have the opportunity to enact our inalienable right to return,' he told reporters in Melbourne.
'What happens after that will be upon the Palestinian people.
'It's not my job, or Anthony Albanese's to determine how Palestinians might seek their self-determination.'
The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council has condemned the government's decision.
'Recognition by Western countries telegraphs to Hamas that its rejection of multiple ceasefire proposals over the past 12 months were the correct decision,' the council said in a statement.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and coalition foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash have also taken issue with recognition.
They warned it 'risks delivering Hamas one of its strategic objectives' and puts Australia at odds with the US, which is 'our most important ally and the most consequential player in the conflict in Gaza'.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed she spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about Australia's intention to recognise Palestine before the decision was formally announced.
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The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
The state-sponsored killing of journalists is another way to limit freedom of speech
The life of journalist Anas al-Sharif is worth no more and no less than any other life lost during the war in Gaza, or in the terrorist atrocities, perpetrated by Hamas, that preceded it. But his targeted killing – alongside that of the four other Al Jazeera staff members who died with him – does raise further significant questions about the way in which Israel has conducted the war. That an accredited journalist who worked for Al Jazeera (and previously for Reuters) was specifically targeted by the Israel Defense Forces is a development that can only be looked upon with a degree of horror. His death was not the kind of inevitable collateral damage that can take place in any war; for want of a better word, Sharif was the subject of a state-sponsored assassination. The Israeli authorities say he was a terrorist, belonged to Hamas, and served as the leader of a cell. They've produced some documentary evidence, but this has not impressed the independent observers who've examined it, and it raises the question of why, if it was so compelling, it was not released sooner. It certainly does not give any lawful reason for his killing, still less that of his Al Jazeera colleagues – correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, cameramen Moamen Aliwa and Ibrahim Zaher, and their assistant Mohammed Noufal – none of whom has been claimed by the Israelis to have had any links to Hamas. Truth, as the old cliche goes, is the first casualty of war, and the fact is that Israel – unusually – has banned international journalists from covering the conflict. The Israeli authorities say it is not safe to do so, a grim irony given Sharif's fate. That, though, is not a matter for them to judge: it is one that should be left to the many news organisations, including The Independent, that have proudly dispatched brave journalists into even more hazardous environments over the course of many decades. Moreover, the Israeli policy has meant that the actions of the Israel Defense Forces cannot be independently monitored and reported on in the traditional manner. The images captured during recent aid flights and first reported by The Independent, of a moonscape where once were bustling neighbourhoods and olive groves, have, alongside the reportage of Sharif and his colleagues, given the world some idea of the disproportionate way in which Israel has acted. The result is that Israel stands accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court, and the term 'genocide' is increasingly being used in connection with the denial of food and medicines to the people of Gaza. Absent the full measure of international scrutiny, journalists from Gaza itself have had to take on the responsibility of providing this essential function. They have willingly placed themselves in the line of fire to tell the world about the destruction of the Gaza Strip, and its human cost; to assess the extent of terrorist activity; and to draw attention to the plight of the hostages still cruelly held by Hamas. Wearing 'PRESS' flak jackets and helmets, they should have received the normal protections afforded to all journalists, and they might well have if they'd been, say, American or Saudi. The vast majority of the 232 or so journalists who have died in the war in Gaza have been Palestinian – a statistic that almost speaks for itself. According to the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs' Costs of War project, more journalists have been killed in Gaza than in both world wars, the Vietnam war, the wars in Yugoslavia, and the United States' war in Afghanistan combined. As the exiled Palestinian writer Ahmed Najad has written in this newspaper, the death of Sharif is an attack on truth itself – and such attacks on freedom of speech and thought are sadly not confined to war zones. The arrest of hundreds of passive, peaceful protesters in London over the weekend shows how the effects of the war in Gaza, and the bitter arguments surrounding it, have spread across the world – or at least, to those parts where dissent is still possible and the press remains relatively uncontrolled by the state. It may well be the case, as ministers darkly hint, that Palestine Action is intent on carrying out activities that its supporters do not know about, but that still does not justify detaining elderly people whose only crime is to hold up a piece of cardboard with a message on it and exercise their right to free expression. A nation that seeks the support of its allies the world over will not succeed in drawing others to its cause by denying international reporters – and indeed, other countries' governments, and citizens – access to the truth. If Israel feels its actions are justified, then it must allow proper scrutiny of them, including coverage of the war it seems intent on perpetrating. The killing of journalists will never elicit anything other than shock from the international community. Benjamin Netanyahu would do well to remember this.
The Independent
44 minutes ago
- The Independent
‘It was horrific': Witnesses tell how Israeli missiles tore through journalists' tent in Gaza City
Sheltering in tents on the grounds of the Shifa hospital complex in Gaza City, the Al-Jazeera journalists had just bid each other good night. Another day of reporting on the violence, starvation and brutality in their besieged homeland had ground to an end. Fifteen minutes later, Israeli missiles tore through the sky and eviscerated the tent. Anas al-Sharif, 28, one of the news channel's most prominent voices in Gaza, was killed alongside reporter Mohammed Qreiqeh and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa. A sixth journalist, a freelance, was killed nearby. Sharif had been intentionally targeted by the Israelis, who accused him of being the head of a Hamas terror cell but offered no credible evidence to back up their claim. There was no explanation for the killing of the other men alongside him. Saed, a Palestinian journalist staying in a nearby tent on the same site, was thrown to the ground by the deafening explosion when the strike hit. 'I lost consciousness,' he told The Independent. 'Suddenly, my eyes went back to the area, and I saw that the journalists' tent had been targeted.' Amer, 31, also in the same compound, came rushing out. He described seeing one journalist, injured in the legs and back, screaming for help. Sharif – who had faced numerous death threats in the run-up to the strike – was lying dead on the ground behind him. His colleague Mohammed Qreiqeh was alive, just about, but on fire. Those around him scrambled to try to extinguish the flames, Amer continued. 'One man was killed while sitting in a chair, and another was killed inside the journalist tent next to us. It was horrific,' he added, visibly shaken. Shrapnel had sprayed the journalist syndicate tent, killing a sixth journalist who did not work for Al Jazeera, as well as a passer-by. 'These journalists were the voice and the image of our suffering here in Gaza – and now they have become the subject of the stories they were covering,' Amer said. 'Anas expected that he would be targeted at any moment. He accepted the possibility, based on the threats against him. He was reporting to the world what was happening, conveying the images and the massacres being committed in the Gaza Strip. There was no place for him to hide.' Sharif had prepared for his death. A lengthy and heartbreaking statement posted to his X (Twitter) account after he was killed read: 'This is my last will and testament. If these words of mine reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice.' The message concluded: 'Do not forget Gaza... And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.' Shortly before he was killed, he posted that there was 'non-stop bombing' in the area. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) warned last month that it was gravely concerned for Sharif's safety as he was being 'targeted by an Israeli military smear campaign', and said that the unfounded accusations 'represented an effort to manufacture consent to kill al-Sharif'. Sara Qudah, the group's director for the Middle East and north Africa, said two weeks ago that the level of danger to al-Sharif's life was 'now acute'. A UN expert previously warned that Sharif's life was in danger because of his reporting from Gaza, while special rapporteur Irene Khan said last month that Israel's claims against Sharif were unsubstantiated. The Israeli military claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming Sharif was a Hamas militant who was responsible for coordinating rocket attacks. Jodie Ginsberg, the chief executive of the CPJ, said the organisation had yet to see 'any credible evidence' to back Israel's allegations against Sharif. 'They've been making this claim for many, many months, most recently in the last couple of weeks following a report that Anas did on starvation in Gaza, in which he cried on air,' Ms Ginsberg said. 'We've asked for evidence repeatedly from Israel.' The journalists' deaths were roundly condemned across the world, with Sir Keir Starmer 's spokesperson saying the prime minister was 'gravely concerned by the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza'. They added: 'Reporters covering conflicts are afforded protection under international humanitarian law, and journalists must be able to report independently, without fear, and Israel must ensure journalists can carry out their work safely.' Al Jazeera Media Network condemned what it called the 'targeted assassination' of Sharif, and said he and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices from within Gaza providing the world with 'unfiltered, on-the-ground coverage of the devastating realities endured by its people'. Omar Shakir, from Human Rights Watch, added: 'The brazen targeted killing of Palestinian journalists Anas al-Sharif and Mohammad Qreiqeh, along with four other media workers, highlights the unimaginable peril Palestinian journalists in Gaza face, and the Israeli military's complete disregard for civilian life. 'As Israel continues to impose a ban on journalists entering Gaza, Palestinian journalists play an indispensable role in documenting and reporting Israel's ongoing extermination of Palestinians. 'Rather than killing voices reporting on its atrocities in Gaza, Israel should stop committing them.'
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Gary Lineker and Mo Salah's ‘we can't hear you' hypocrisy is plain to see
'We can't hear you, Uefa,' wrote Gary Lineker, outraged that European football's governing body had not acknowledged the alleged circumstances of the death of Suleiman al-Obeid, aka the 'Palestinian Pele'. According to the Palestine Football Association (PFA), the 41-year-old was killed while waiting for humanitarian aid last week in the south of the Gaza Strip. Of all the subjects on which to claim a conspiracy of silence, this was surely not Lineker 's wisest choice. After all, when 1,195 Israelis were slaughtered by Hamas on October 7, 2023, nobody could hear him either. On the occasion of the worst single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, the one sally on social media by the self-appointed moral conscience of the game was the observation: 'Super Spurs are top of the league.' Almost two years on, his suggestion that Uefa is under some urgent imperative to tell the world about what happened to Al-Obeid feels at best naive, at worst cynical in its inconsistency. Strictly speaking, there was no need for anybody in Nyon to address the issue publicly, given Palestine's affiliation to the Asian confederation, outside Uefa's jurisdiction. But Aleksander Ceferin, pathologically averse to anything that could be construed as political, still offered a lavish tribute, reflecting in a statement attributed to the president: 'His talent and dedication gave the children of Gaza and beyond hope in a brighter tomorrow.' In stark contrast, the murder at the Nova music festival of Lior Asulin, a striker who played at the highest level in his home country for Hapoel Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem, passed entirely without Uefa comment 22 months ago, despite Israel falling within its orbit. Asulin even competed in its own competition, turning out six times in 2007 for Hapoel in the Uefa Cup. But for 674 days the details of his death – he was killed by Hamas terrorists at a rave where he had been celebrating his 43rd birthday – have gone wholly unremarked by Ceferin, or indeed by Lineker. In fairness, Lineker is far from the only influential figure imploring Uefa to broadcast the Palestinian narrative around how Al-Obeid died. Mohamed Salah also took the organisation to task, replying to the 'Palestinian Pele' message: 'Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?' That intervention was swiftly amplified by Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader who refused to condemn Hamas in the aftermath of October 7. 'Well done Mo!' he said. While there is no doubting the sincerity of Salah's sentiments, his contributions have followed the Lineker playbook in terms of only conveying one side of the story. In a rare non-sponsored video message, released just 11 days after the Hamas atrocities, he did not mention Israel once, instead focusing only on the escalating Israeli response and a call to open a humanitarian corridor into Gaza. There is a sense that Salah's anger on this front would be better directed against his own government in Egypt, rather than an avowedly apolitical body like Uefa. Egypt has adopted a hardline opposition to allowing vulnerable Palestinians to cross the Rafah border crossing into Sinai, denying them a temporary safe haven on the grounds that Israel might never permit them to go back. Mohamed Farid, an Egyptian senator, has argued that the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza would merely fuel support for Hamas's extremist ideology and exacerbate tensions throughout the region. Surely Salah, well-intentioned though he might be, would be better advised to engage with this school of thought in his homeland, rather than to play to the gallery online. Sadly, it is only performative antics that cut through in his sphere. Take Lineker's recent comment, addressing the sharing of an anti-Semitic rat emoji that hastened his exit from the BBC, that he was 'anti-the killing of children'. It read as another appeal for secular sainthood, another reminder that he was on the side of the angels. 'I come from a place of complete impartiality,' he declared. If only. Sadly, the problem with his pieties is that they have been filtered through a distinct ideological prism. He is the radicalised product of social networks, seeing fit to peddle the sophomoric propaganda of Owen Jones as if it were inscribed on tablets of stone. He is interested in truth only as far as it corresponds with his preconceived version of truth. This is why the pressure on Uefa to give more specifics about Al-Obeid feels so opportunistic. For a start, we will perhaps never know the definitive version of his death: where the PFA has said he was killed by Israel while waiting at an aid distribution point, the Israel Defence Forces have denied this, with spokesman Nadav Shoshani telling Salah: 'We found no records of any incidents. In order to take a closer look, we need more details.' From the vantage point of Lineker et al, Uefa's selective testimony on Al-Obeid is cast as a damning indictment ofindifference to the Palestinians' suffering. But you cannot be taken seriously as a paragon of virtue if your application of morality is so one-sided that you fail to address an Israeli footballer's murder, or even the massacre of Jews that precipitated this entire conflagration. That is not altruism, it is activism.
