By Laura Tingle, ABC
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. File photo. Photo: AFP / David Gray
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described recent actions by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza as "completely indefensible" and said he told Israeli President Isaac Herzog directly that Israel was losing support by its own actions.
In an interview with the ABC as he wrapped up his six-day visit to China, the Australian PM was asked about the broader rapid changes in global affairs unfolding at present, and since he had first won office in 2022.
Albanese's comments on Israel are his most critical since May, when he described the blockade on aid into Gaza as "completely unacceptable" and criticised what he said were Israel's "excuses and explanations".
He also said he had raised Beijing's support for Russia and its involvement in the Ukraine war with China's leadership during his visit.
Australian PM said he has warned Israel it is 'losing support'
Albanese was asked whether Israel's place in the world had changed after condemnation by the International Court of Justice, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being accused of "crimes against humanity and war crimes" by the International Criminal Court.
In addition to its actions in Gaza, which have led to the deaths of more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to the Gazan Health Ministry, and its recent controversial intervention in the distribution of aid in Gaza, Israel has recently taken unilateral actions, in the form of bombing campaigns, against both Iran and Syria.
"We need to always engage in the world as it is, rather than as we would like it to be," he said.
"Israel's actions, many of the actions of the Netanyahu government, including by its ministers, have led my government indeed to sanction ministers in the Netanyahu government. We would not have thought that was on the agenda in 2022, when I was elected.
Australia is a long-term supporter - and indeed played a role in the creation of the State of Israel.
"But at that time, it's important to remember that two states were envisaged and Australia, and certainly my government, has continued to support two states in the Middle East: the State of Israel and the State of Palestine.
"We want Israel to continue to exist within secure borders and to be able to live without the threat of terrorists such as Hamas engaging in the sort of atrocities we saw on 7 October.
"But Palestinians have a legitimate aspiration for a state of their own and to be able to achieve prosperity, and that is something that has been a bipartisan position as well, going back to John Howard, who said there could be no peace in the Middle East without dealing with the Palestinian question."
Pressed on whether Australia needed to change its view of what was happening in Israel, with reports of Palestinians regularly being killed while waiting for food and water, Albanese said:
"Well, that is completely indefensible.
"And we've called that out each and every time that that has occurred.
And we have, I've issued a number of joint statements, for example, with the Canadian and New Zealand prime ministers.
"We've joined the international community, which overwhelmingly has condemned actions such as that.
"And the other thing that we've done is to say in private, what we say publicly as well, which is that Israel, and we say this as a friend, sometimes you gotta be straight and upfront.
"And I certainly have said to, for example, President Herzog, who I've known for a long period of time, that Israel is losing support by its own actions, and that some of its actions are completely indefensible."
Asked what chance there was for a two-state solution, when Gaza had been largely reduced to rubble and there had been further incursions into the West Bank by Israel, Albanese said:
"The globe has to play a role in it, and obviously, the role of the United States will be central to that.
"Australia isn't a central player in the Middle East, but what we can do is continue to do what we have done, which is to take a principled position.
"We opposed unequivocally the atrocity that occurred on 7 October [when Hamas led an attack on Israelis which left close to 1,200 people dead].
"We have called for a ceasefire consistently. We've called for the release of hostages. We have also called for the aid to be able to flow to the people of Gaza, and we've called out Israel for its actions that have led, of course, to such appalling conditions and loss of innocent life in the resolution that was carried in the Parliament just days after 7 October.
"I think that will stand the test of history well, because when you look at that [resolution] at the time, we spoke about opposing the loss of innocent life, whether it be Israeli or Palestinian."
Australia's PM discusses 'differences' with China over regional conflicts
Australia's PM was also asked how China's current portrayal of itself as a global peacemaker, and a calm and steady hand in contrast to the Trump administration in the US, stood up in the face of Chinese support for Russia in its war in Ukraine, which included claims that Chinese troops had been captured on the battlefield.
"We made our position very clear about Ukraine to the Chinese leadership here over the past days," Albanese said.
"We do have differences. We do have differences with some of the actions of China in our own region, let alone in Ukraine. And we point those out.
"We, for example, in the Pacific are very clear that we want the Pacific family to look after our own security and don't want to see an increased military presence in the region. Now we'll continue to do that.
"We engage with our Pacific neighbours just as we engage constructively with our ASEAN neighbours as well."
- ABC
