As Israel’s parliament voted overwhelmingly against Palestinian statehood, Wong used some of her strongest language to date to condemn Israeli Defence Force strikes.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has demanded Israel stop killing innocent Palestinians as her government works to tamp down a boilover in local tensions if Israel and Lebanon go to war.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles hosted a roundtable with Lebanese community leaders to discuss how the government would help evacuate Australians or their families in Lebanon in the case of war breaking out. Government figures not authorised to speak on the record are worried the local Lebanese community, already disturbed by Israel’s behaviour in Gaza, would react ferociously to an Israeli offensive in Lebanon, heightening local tensions and inflaming anti-Israel sentiment.
The Greens have consistently called on Labor to use stronger language to criticise Israel and to sanction its government, as awith pro-Palestine independents threatening to challenge Labor MPs. The Coalition, on the other hand, has portrayed Labor as sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and too harsh in its attacks on a long-term partner of Australia fighting a listed terror outfit.
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