Minister distances government’s ‘clear’ stance on Israel-Palestine from Labor’s party position

Australia’s chief diplomat has pushed back against Israeli criticism that Labor’s leaked draft national platform unfairly blames Israel for conflict with Palestinians. The draft platform will be considered at the Labor national conference in Adelaide this week. The 2023 platform urged Labor to recognise a Palestinian state, which happened in September last year. The new draft opposes “illegal settlement activity” and settler violence in the West Bank, and condemns Israeli laws approving the death penalty for Palestinians who murder Israelis. It also includes support for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday that both the Australian government and people “want to see a two-state solution”. “We want to see both Israelis and Palestinians being able to live in peace and security behind borders which are recognised and negotiated,” she told Bloomberg on the sidelines of a summit in the Philippines. “We want to see peace in the Middle East.” Senator Wong added that the national platform was “a matter for the (Labor Party) to determine” but that the Australian government’s “position is clear”, suggesting they were totally separate. In its lengthy response to the draft platform, Israel’s embassy rejected that settlements violated international law because borders between Israel and a Palestinian state are “final-status issues to be resolved through direct negotiations”. It also described illegal settler violence as a “marginal phenomenon”. “In contrast to Palestinian attacks on Israelis, which continue frequently and are not even condemned by the PA, Israel condemns any vigilante attacks and acts to bring them to justice,” it said. “In most cases, settler violence targets possessions while Palestinian violence aspires to murder or injure Israelis.” The embassy also criticised Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state. “Such recognition does not bring the sides closer but only distances them from one another,” it said. “Recognition in the absence of genuine reform strengthens the radicals, is perceived as a reward for terrorism, and sends a message that terrorism and intransigence pay off.” Regarding the ICC and ICJ, it argued both bodies were “politicised and maintain a disproportionate focus on the Jewish state”. The Australian Palestine Advocacy Network took a different view on the national platform clear last week, stating “the greatest political risk is not speaking honestly about Palestine”. “Labor cannot claim to champion human rights and international law while continuing policies that contribute to Israel’s violations,” APAN executive officer Katie Shammas said. “This conference is the moment Labor can choose to draw a red line on Australian complicity. “This means ending defence exports that risk contributing to atrocities, confronting the illegal settlement enterprise, and ensuring Australia meets its obligations under international law. “History will remember what Labor chose to do while Palestinians were being killed, starved and driven from their homes.”