Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched an extraordinary personal attack on Australian leader Anthony Albanese, accusing him of betrayal in a major escalation of a worsening diplomatic stoush.
Netanyahu’s broadside came less than 24 hours after his government kicked out Australia’s representatives to the Occupied Palestinian Territories in retaliation for promised recognition of a Palestinian state and the denial of a visa to a far-right Israeli politician.
“History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews,” Netanyahu said, in a Tuesday night post on X.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Monday night announced the country had revoked the visas of Australia’s representatives based in Palestine’s West Bank, accusing Australia of antisemitism.
He blamed the promised Palestinian recognition and the denial of a visa for Israeli lawmaker Simcha Rothman, a member of the Religious Zionism party, which supports the continuation of the war, the mass relocation of Palestinians through what it describes as voluntary migration and the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said it was an “unjustified reaction” and accused the Netanyahu government of “isolating Israel and undermining international efforts towards peace and a two-state solution”.
Netanyahu’s post on Tuesday night is far from the first criticism from Israel since Albanese announced plans to follow France, UK and Canada in recognising Palestine at the next United Nations General Assembly in September in New York.
But coming from the country’s most powerful politician, it’s a significant escalation in the deterioration of diplomatic ties between two allies.
Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid lashed out at Netanyahu over the comment.
“The thing that strengthens a leader in the democratic world today most is a confrontation with Netanyahu, the most politically toxic leader in the Western world,” he said, on X.
“It is unclear why Bibi is in such a hurry to give the Australian prime minister this gift.”
Albanese was yet to respond on Tuesday night.
Hours earlier Australian Finance Minister Katy Gallagher denied Australia’s relationship with Israel was broken and said Canberra was not trying to isolate Netanyahu’s government.
https://x.com/IsraeliPM/status/1957722795049398502
“No, that is not the basis of the decisions that we’ve taken, we’ve taken decisions about recognition of the Palestinian state, based on, well, a frame view of a two-state solution and a pathway to peace,” she said.
“We want diplomatic and open channels of discussion with the Israeli government.
“The PM takes it seriously, and that’s why we had those conversations, no matter how difficult they are with the prime minister and the prime minister of Israel.”
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the prime minister deserved respect but described it as a “two-way street” and pushed Albanese to “explain how he is going to repair this relationship which is now in tatters as a result of his failures of leadership”.
“Anthony Albanese has mismanaged international relationships to the point where he now finds himself at the centre of a troubling diplomatic incident,” she said, in a statement.
“This is a direct consequence of bad decisions he and his government have taken that do not advance Australia’s interests.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, said the Palestinian death toll from 22 months of war has passed 62,000.
It does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the dead. The United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties.
Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavily populated areas after ceasefire talks stalled last month, raising the possibility of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which experts say is sliding into famine.
Netanyahu has dismissed reports of starvation in Gaza as “lies” promoted by Hamas.
But the UN last week warned that starvation and malnutrition in the occupied Palestinian territory are at their highest levels since the war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which the militants abducted 251 people and killed about 1200, mostly civilians.
Hamas said Monday it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as Israel indicated its positions haven’t changed.
– Reported with Associated Press
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