Jewish leaders condemn joint Gaza statement

Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) executive director Colin Rubenstein has described a joint statement co-signed by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong calling for an immediate end to the Gaza war as “badly misguided” and offering “nothing constructive to help resolve the ongoing conflict in Gaza”.

The statement, signed by foreign ministers from 28 countries, declared “the war in Gaza must end now”, called for “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” and condemned Israel’s aid delivery model in the Strip.

“The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,” the statement read.

The signatories condemned “the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food” and said it was “horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid”.

The statement also called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza but then contradictorily said “a negotiated ceasefire offers the best hope of bringing them home”.

“It absurdly accepts Hamas propaganda claims about the situation in Gaza and the aid efforts there, often amplified by UN agencies, as proven facts. Moreover, calling for an ‘immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire’ and a return to the old UN-dominated aid system, which Hamas exploited routinely in order to maintain itself in power and keep the war going, can only benefit Hamas,” Rubenstein said.

“It is particularly telling that Hamas has applauded the statement, while not only Israel, but the US mediators urgently trying to reach a genuinely sustainable ceasefire, have been highly critical of it.

“It is also noteworthy that this statement contradicts in practice our Foreign Minister’s and Prime Minister’s repeated declarations that Hamas must have no future role in Gaza. The implications of the demands in the statement are that Hamas will continue to rule Gaza, preparing for the future rounds of conflict it openly says it will seek.”

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said the war “could have ended on October, 8, 2023, if Hamas laid down its arms, and returned all of the hostages”.

“Hamas is intent on prolonging the war, and are refusing to sign a ceasefire deal Israel has agreed to,” Leibler said.

“The Australian government and international community must come together to put maximum pressure on Hamas to surrender, and to ensure aid deliveries are not misused to embolden Hamas’s grip on Gaza,” he said.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion said world leaders should be calling for the immediate and unconditional surrender of Hamas.

“No one wants this war to end more than Israel but that can only happen with the release of the 50 hostages and assurances that Hamas will not retain effective control over Gaza,” he said.

“The solution is the permanent removal of the terrorist force that started this war and their release of all hostages. Anything less would guarantee a return to war and further suffering in the near future.”

Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Michaelia Cash said it was “disappointing that once again the Albanese government is supporting a statement attacking Israel”.

“Hamas could end the suffering of the people of Gaza by freeing the remaining Israeli hostages and laying down their weapons,” Cash posted on X.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry rejected the joint statement as “disconnected from reality” and said it “sends the wrong message to Hamas”.

“All statements and all claims should be directed at the only party responsible for the lack of a deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire: Hamas, which started this war and is prolonging it,” the ministry said on X.

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called the statement “disgusting”.

Appearing on ABC News Breakfast on Tuesday morning, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke called it Australia’s “strongest statement” since the conflict began.

Burke emphasised the importance of multilateral action, saying Australia alone was “not a loud voice or a decisive voice on the other side of the world” but that collective statements from “so many other significant powers” carried more weight.

“We’ve seen too many images of children being killed, of horrific slaughter, of churches being bombed. The images that we’ve seen have been pretty clear that so much of this is indefensible,” Burke said.

While acknowledging hostages held by Hamas “still need to be released”, Burke maintained “the war needs to end”.

“It’s a powerful statement. It’s got countries, powerful countries from all around the world saying the same thing. The slaughter has to end,” he said.