Bandt blames Israel for Hamas crackdown

Get The AJN Newsletter by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

Greens leader Adam Bandt would not condemn Hamas when asked this week about the terror group’s brutal crackdown on anti-Hamas protesters in Gaza, in which Hamas has killed at least six Palestinians, instead condemning Israel.

Asked by The Australian if he condemned Hamas’s executions of Palestinians, Bandt replied, “The killing of civilians is devastating, never acceptable and should always be investigated by human rights organisations.”

Bandt then directed blame at Israel. “For all killings to finally stop, and for Palestinians and Israelis to have a just and lasting peace, the occupation of Palestine and the invasion of Gaza need to end,” he said. “Australia needs to move from words to action and put pressure on the extremist Netanyahu government to end the occupation of Palestine, which is the root cause of the conflict, and end the invasion of Gaza.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) Co-CEO Alex Ryvchin criticised Bandt’s “incomprehensible response”.

“It shows that he is not a supporter of Palestinians at all. He is an exploiter of them. They only interest him as a gimmick through which he can express his hatred for Israel,” he said.

“The Greens claim to be counter-establishment and progressive. But they are rooted in the old failed ideology of communism and the socialism of fools – antisemitism.”

Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) CEO Alon Cassuto commented it was “mindboggling that a party that claims to champion social justice and equality are completely incapable of calling out a terrorist group, who are not only hellbent on the destruction of Jews, but Palestinians who bravely stand up to them”.

“Let’s not forget Adam Bandt refused to say if Hamas was a terrorist organisation, and his own deputy refused to say whether Hamas should be dismantled,” he said.

“Hamas is the enemy of innocent Palestinians. Adam Bandt and the Greens are the enemy of social cohesion in Australia.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned Hamas’s executions of Palestinians on Monday as “reprehensible acts”.

“The terror Hamas inflicts on Israelis and Palestinians is why the Australian government has sanctioned Hamas and listed it as a terrorist organisation. Hamas must cease its terrorist acts and release the hostages immediately and unconditionally. Hamas can have no role in the future governance of Gaza,” Wong affirmed.

The ECAJ and ZFA have called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to rule out making a deal with the Greens if Labor fails to win majority government, and for the Labor and Liberal parties to preference each other above the Greens.

Albanese has previously stated that he would not do a deal with the Greens but on Monday mistakenly said, “If you ask me ‘Do you rule out governing in coalition with the Greens?’, the answer to that is no.”

His office was quick to correct the gaffe.

Meanwhile, the weekly pro-Palestinians protests in Melbourne have resumed leading up to the election, with Greens support.

Greens candidate for Fraser, Huong Truong, told the crowd she was an organiser for ‘We Vote For Palestine’, saying, “Can you imagine how different this would be if I was standing here as an MP that can go into Parliament and bring this grassroots voice into Parliament., who is accused of kidnapping and assault, told the anti-Israel protest on Sunday, “This is a very critical time for us to go and disrupt those election campaigns.”

Australia/Israel& Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein said it was “not acceptable that the city will once again be unsafe for the Jewish community and many others every Sunday … it’s time the authorities acted against them”.

“The threat to disrupt the election campaign shows contempt for democracy and for the Australian people, and for the Greens to back them is a disgrace,” he remarked.