Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said after a phone call with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Israeli leader is “in denial” about the conditions in Gaza. File Photo Lukas Coch/EPA
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “in denial” about humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
Albanese offered the comments after he had a phone call with Netanyahu where the pair discussed the war in Gaza.
“I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He, again, reiterated to me what he has said publicly as well — which is to be in denial about the consequences that are occurring for innocent people,” Albanese said.
“The stopping of aid that we’ve seen and then the loss of life that we’re seeing around those aid distribution points, where people queuing for food and water are losing their lives, is just completely unacceptable. And we have said that.”
Five people have died from malnutrition in the past 24 hours, including one child, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, bringing the total number of malnutrition deaths to 222, including 101 children, BBC reported.
Netanyahu denies there is starvation in Gaza and has accused United Nations agencies of not picking up aid at the borders and delivering to the people. The U.N. has rejected this, saying there are obstacles and delays when collecting aid from Israeli-controlled border zones.
On Monday, Albanese announced that Australia would recognize a Palestinian state, along with France, Britain and Canada. He said the country will formally make the recognition in September, during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Australia’s pledge to recognize Palestine was “predicated” on conditions that the Palestinian Authority, which controls parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, agreed to, Albanese said. Those conditions included that there would be no role for terror group Hamas in a future government. The prime minister said the international community could block Hamas from future elections in Palestine, but refused to say whether Australia would revoke its plans to recognize if the conditions weren’t met.
“You can [stop Hamas from elections] if you have the Arab states in the Middle East all speaking as one, as well as the Palestinian Authority, as well as the international community. Yes, you can,” he told Australia’s 9News.
In a press conference, Albanese said violence in the region, including military occupation of Gaza City, “just cannot continue into the future without an end point.”
“The international community is coming up with an end point, which is, how do we resolve this? How do we get a permanent security position?” he said.
The decision to support Palestine has seen a mixed response in Australia. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry called it a “betrayal,” and some Palestinian activists said it doesn’t go far enough.
Right-leaning opposition leader Sussan Ley said the decision was “disrespectful” to the United States, an important Australian ally.
Earlier this month, a pro-Palestinian protest drew at least 90,000 supporters who walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge.
