Australian foreign minister Penny Wong has called for a renewed international effort to find a two-state solution to end the cycle of violence in the Middle East, arguing that Israel can only find peace and security if it can do the same for Palestinians.
Writing for Guardian Australia, Wong outlines the Albanese government’s position in the strongest terms yet, saying that the “status quo is failing everyone” and that the only alternative is to find a “durable peace” through a political process.
While condemning “unequivocally” the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October and affirming Australia’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself, she adds that the way in which Israel does so matters.
“As Australians who treasure our peaceful community and aspire to ever greater unity as a nation, we mourn every innocent life which has been lost in this conflict,” Wong writes.
“In Israel’s response to those attacks, thousands of Palestinians have been killed, including more than 3,500 children, as reported by Unicef. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens by the day.”
Israel must “exercise restraint and protect civilian lives”, she says, as it continues its military action to defeat a “craven terrorist group that has burrowed itself in civilian infrastructure”, and which she says is using civilians as a shield.
But when allies such as Australia urge Israel to exercise restraint and protect civilian lives, it is critical that Israel listens because it “faces grave risk if conflict spreads”. She warns that the “international community will not accept ongoing civilian deaths”.
“It is not possible to assure the interests of Israelis without also assuring the same for Palestinians’” she writes.
“A durable peace calls for people to see each other’s humanity. It requires all sides to respect the right of others to exist.
“It will require the dismantling of Hamas – which doesn’t represent the Palestinian people – and a reformed, legitimate Palestinian Authority that disavows violence.”
In an expansion of the government’s thinking beyond resolving borders, she says that a political solution would require “serious international investment in the Palestinian economy”, so that Palestinians could build their own future.
And her tough language also extends to a call for Israeli settlement of occupied Palestinian territories to end, arguing that “even the divided UN security council agreed is a ‘flagrant violation’ of international law and a ‘major obstacle’ to peace. Settler violence against Palestinians must cease and perpetrators held to account”.
The only alternative to the violence is a political solution and there is growing demand around the world for a new diplomatic effort to that end, she says.
“Ultimately, a just and enduring peace requires a two-state solution. An Israeli state alongside a Palestinian state. Israelis and Palestinians living securely and prosperously within internationally recognised borders.”
Wong has consistently called for restraint when it comes to protection of civilian life, modest statements that have still come under partisan attack from the Coalition opposition.
Pressure has been mounting within Labor to do more to call out Israel’s reprisals, with two senior frontbench ministers labelling them collective punishment.
But in a critical UN vote Australia abstained from a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza, arguing it was “incomplete” because it did not mention Hamas as the perpetrator of the 7 October attack.
The government’s leader of the house, Tony Burke, has said people have a right to grieve what they saw happening to Palestinians because “we can’t say we only grieve for certain people who are slaughtered”.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, spoke to Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Wednesday.
Asked on Thursday about calls for a ceasefire, Albanese told a conference in Melbourne that “we said a week ago there was a need for a pause for humanitarian concerns – and that remains our position”.
“On the 7th of October people witnessed a terrorist act that shocked the world,” Albanese told The Australian’s Economic and Social Outlook conference.
“Israel has a right to defend itself, but how it defends itself matters as well.
“It must comply with international law, including … the rules of war.
“And is obligated to do all that it can to ensure that innocent civilians are not paying the price for Hamas’ atrocities.”
Albanese said Hamas’ actions had resulted in “devastating loss of life of Israelis”, and called for Israeli hostages to be released unconditionally.
“We’ve also seen an enormous loss of Palestinian life and my view is that every life matters, every innocent life matters whether it is Israeli or Palestinian.”
Albanese said the images from the Jabalia refugee camp were an “enormous concern”, and Israel needed to recognise that the consequences of war expanding would be “dire” for its security.
