Australia/Israel Review

In the Australian media, the temporary hostage-for-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was almost universally welcomed as a positive start, while, with one or two exceptions, Hamas, not Israel, was identified as the main impediment to progressing peace.

The Herald Sun (Jan. 17) said, “There is no evidence the terror group has any longer-term desire for peace… it is clear Hamas… will never accept the legitimacy of Israel and its right to exist.”

The Australian Financial Review (Jan. 17) recognised that Israel has “no true peace partner among the Palestinian leadership,” meaning “there is little hope that the end of the Gaza war will lay the foundation for a genuine peace deal based on a two-state solution.”

The Canberra Times (Jan. 17) was also pessimistic about the prospects for peace, saying a “lasting peace” requires “Hamas no longer rul[ing] in Gaza.”

Meanwhile, in the Australian Financial Review (Jan. 17), AIJAC’s Jamie Hyams argued that despite Israel clearly winning the military battle, Hamas’ “abhorrent human shield tactics” resulted in thousands of Palestinian civilians being killed. Hyams said the only way to prevent a recurrence is by ensuring Hamas “must never again be allowed to devote Gaza’s resources and people to terrorism… If it does, it wins, and we all lose – especially Gaza’s civilians.”

The Age (Jan. 18) said the problem with the ceasefire deal is it “does not detail how the Gaza Strip will be governed… Israel is strident in declaring Hamas should not be involved again.” The paper did note this was the position of Australia’s Government too, but said how to “prevent this from happening is the question.”

A truncated version of this editorial ran in the Sydney Morning Herald (Jan. 20) which, unlike in the Age, explicitly ruled out Hamas’ governance of Gaza.

The Australian (Jan. 20) asserted that the “world, not just Israel, has an overwhelming responsibility to ensure that when the last Jewish troops eventually leave Gaza, it does not return to being dominated by Hamas.” 

In the same edition, Strategic Analysis Australia’s Anthony Bergin cautioned that foreign aid for rebuilding Gaza must not be misappropriated by Hamas.

In News Corp papers (Jan. 20), AIJAC’s Ahron Shapiro said Hamas must not be allowed to turn this hostage deal into a “victory” for terrorism.

The Adelaide Advertiser editorialised (Jan. 21), “The blame for every single life lost in the conflict lies with Hamas. They could have given up their captives at any moment. Instead, how must they have basked in Foreign Minister Penny Wong splitting from our US ally to side with two-state solution resolutions Australia had previously abstained from at the UN. That’s not to say there shouldn’t be a two-state solution. It just shouldn’t be proffered as a reward for terrorism and the worst slaughter of Jews since the holocaust [sic].”

A UK Observer editorial in the Guardian Australia (Jan. 20) seemed to envisage an ongoing political role for Hamas, saying the group “must recognise that the 7 October atrocities produced even greater, counter-productive violence.” 

The ABC’s Global Affairs Editor John Lyons told ABC TV “News” (Jan. 16) that the deal was a “band-aid” that “ignores the fundamental reality at the centre of all of this, that as the Palestinian population grows, they are living under, in the West Bank, Israeli occupation, where they are inferior citizens to the Jewish settlers who live next door to them.”

His online analysis (Jan. 16) asserted that “Israel is led by Benjamin Netanyahu, who has through his career made clear his determination that the Palestinians will never have their own state.” 

Appearing on ABC TV (Jan. 19), Lyons seemed to suggest peace was hostage to Israel’s “government [which is] opposed to a Palestinian state,” without mentioning Hamas’ genocidal agenda or rejection of two states. Lyons’ solution involved “the US, the Europeans and Australia pressur[ing] both sides.” 

Lyons did not tell ABC readers and viewers that, since 2000, Palestinian leaders have rejected several generous Israeli offers that would have created a Palestinian state. Nor that Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu supported a Palestinian state and even negotiated for seven months to create one in 2014, but Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas broke off talks. Since then, Abbas has refused to negotiate. Yet, Lyons says, Israel needs to be pressured.

Asked on ABC TV “News” (Jan. 16) about longer-term peace, pro-Palestinian lobbyist Nasser Mashni ignored the question and railed against Israel, falsely claiming that “accounts” from the Lancet medical journal suggest 250,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7.