PM brushes off push for Israel sanctions as a ‘slogan’

Australia has downplayed US criticism of international efforts to recognise Palestine, as Anthony Albanese criticises Israel’s plan to expand its Gaza offensive.

The prime minister has brushed off calls to impose sanctions on Israel for blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, calling the demands a “slogan”.

Speaking in the historic mining settlement of Arrowtown on New Zealand’s South Island, Anthony Albanese also repeated his government’s call for Israel to abandon its plan to occupy the entirety of the Gaza Strip.

“We called for an immediate ceasefire,” he told reporters on Sunday morning following a meeting with Kiwi counterpart Chris Luxon.

“We called for the release of hostages, and we called for the unimpeded entry of aid into Gaza.

We have a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding there. And the idea that it can just be continued is completely unacceptable.”

But the prime minister refused to answer a question about whether Australia would impose further sanctions on Israel as demanded by the Greens and other pro-Palestinian campaigners.

“What we need to do here is to have very clear statements and actions by the Australian government that make a difference, rather than respond to a slogan on a protest,” Mr Albanese said.

Australia previously imposed sanctions on Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, two far-right Israeli ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, who have been accused of inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The prime minister has been gradually warming towards imminent recognition of a Palestinian state, discussing necessary steps with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas in a recent phone call.

It followed announcements by France, the UK and Canada that they planned to recognise Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said efforts to progress recognition had encouraged Hamas, which sparked the deadly conflict with its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, and scuttled peace talks.

But Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles denied the claim.

“We have made clear that the actions of Hamas have actually undermined the prospects of there being a recognition of a Palestinian state, of the establishment of a two-state solution,” Mr Marles told ABC’s Insiders program.

“We have articulated, as we have discussed this question, that there can be no role for Hamas in a future Palestinian state.

So there’s no encouragement to Hamas in any of the conversations that we have been having in relation to recognition.”

Opposition home affairs spokesman Andrew Hastie said he was hesitant to recognise the state of Palestine with Hamas, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by Australia, still in “prime position” to control Gaza.

“If they did move to elections, let’s just say that the Gaza conflict wound up and they moved to elections, what guarantee would there be that Hamas would not win another majority?” he told Sky News.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said it would not be unprecedented for Australia to recognise a country while part of it was occupied by a terrorist organisation.

“There have frequently been countries where half of that nation has been occupied by a terrorist group and we haven’t ceased to recognise the country,” he said.

“Both Syria and Iraq had a long period where parts of those countries were being occupied and realistically controlled by ISIS.”

By: Jacob Shteyman/AAP

 

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