Labor lacks courage to stand firm
The Albanese Labor Government has proven overnight that they lack the courage to stand against pressure and by sound principles after voting at the United Nations General Assembly for a resolution granting a unique form of UN membership to the ‘State of Palestine’.
Labor’s support for the resolution sends a shameful message that violence and terrorism get results ahead of negotiation and diplomacy.
This resolution, supported by Australia due to the change in position taken by the Albanese Government, creates the wrong incentives and risks further harming prospects for long term peace.
There is a real risk that Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and others who deny Israel the right to exist take heart from this resolution.
The pathway to a two-state solution matters and can only be possible with security and respect by each party of the right for the other to exist. Yet this resolution reads as though the Hamas attacks of 7 October, deliberately slaughtering more Jews than on any single day since The Holocaust, never happened.
The resolution the Albanese Government supported doesn’t mention Hamas, let alone call for their surrender. It also doesn’t call for the release of hostages held by Hamas and doesn’t make respect for Israel’s right to exist a precondition of action.
Alongside the horrific problem of Hamas terrorists still active in Gaza, this resolution leaves unresolved the question of borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state, rights of return for Palestinians, governance reform of the Palestinian Authority and future security undertakings between the two states.
By advancing the wishes of terrorists while securing nothing in return this vote has reduced the incentive for parties to negotiate and increased the risks of future attacks or bloodshed.
Labor’s actions have undermined decades of bipartisan foreign policy support of a two-state solution that is negotiated between the parties and would provide both Israelis and Palestinians peace and security within internationally recognised borders.
The Albanese Government’s casting of a vote in support of this resolution was also out of step with key partners, including the majority of our Five Eyes partners. The United States opposed it, while Canada and the United Kingdom abstained, along with other democratic nations we should stand with, such as Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.
It is evident now that the Prime Minister has misled Australians for weeks by saying he hasn’t changed Australia’s position. Clearly the speech Minister Wong made last month was Labor limbering up to change Australia’s foreign policy position and to further widen the gulf between Australia and important allies.
Prime Minister Albanese must guarantee not to proceed with further recognition while Hamas still commands the capacity to attack, Israel’s security remains threatened by those who promote violence, and the Palestinian Authority is crippled by incompetence.
The Coalition wants the tragic loss of innocent lives to end, but this approach will not achieve that. We remain committed to a genuine negotiated two-state solution.
We all wish to see the bloodshed stop, decades of violence cease being perpetuated and the legitimate rights of all peoples upheld, both Palestinian and Israeli. But peace and security will not be achieved by potentially emboldening terrorists.