AIJAC Executive Director Dr Colin Rubenstein said, “It is a disturbing that Prime Minister Albanese is so reliant for his views on the situation in Gaza on misleading, self-serving Hamas propaganda, albeit relayed through compliant anti-Israel UN agencies. At a time when all mediators agree that Hamas is the obstacle to a ceasefire agreement which would end the humanitarian crisis there, statements such as the one he issued today only encourage Hamas to hold out, convinced it is weakening Israel by doing so.
“Mr Albanese and his Government have rightly stated on many occasions that Hamas can have no future role in Gaza, but now he is demanding a ceasefire that would leave it in power there. And he is failing to attribute the blame for the distressing Gaza situation toward this banned terror group – which started the war and openly says it sees the suffering of Gaza’s civilians as ‘necessary sacrifices.
“There is no doubt a tragedy in Gaza which we all want to see end, but it is crucial to understand the cause and true nature of this crisis, or there is a high risk of exacerbating it rather than helping to resolve the problem.
“Similarly, when Mr Albanese talks about a two-state peace, he should remember that the Palestinian Authority refused three very generous offers of statehood in 2000, 2001, and 2008, as part of a long record of intransigence, and that Israel completely withdrew from Gaza in 2005 only for Hamas to turn it into a terror enclave.
“It should be obvious that before there can be any serious moves towards a two-state peace, the PA must be comprehensively reformed and Hamas must be driven from Gaza. Otherwise, any moves, such as foreshadowing recognition, would be a reward for, and entrench, the PA’s intransigence and Hamas’ reign of terror,” Dr Rubenstein concluded.
