{"id":947194,"date":"2026-07-20T09:49:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T09:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/947194\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T09:49:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T09:49:18","slug":"israel-argues-draft-labor-platform-gives-insufficient-attention-to-hamas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/947194\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel argues draft Labor platform gives &#8216;insufficient attention&#8217; to Hamas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Israel&#8217;s embassy in Australia has strongly criticised Labor&#8217;s draft national platform, arguing it places too much responsibility for ongoing conflict on Israel and not enough on Palestinian leaders, or Hamas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The draft platform will be put to delegates at the national conference in Adelaide this week, and significantly expands Labor&#8217;s position on the status of Israel and Palestine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The existing 2023 national platform primarily called on Labor to recognise a Palestinian state, which the Albanese government did in September last year alongside countries like Canada and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The new draft introduces a more detailed position on Israel and Palestine, including opposition to Israeli &#8220;illegal settlement activity&#8221; and settler violence, and condemnation of <a class=\"Link_link__kR0xA Link_link__5eL5m ScreenReaderOnly_srLinkHint__OysWz Link_showVisited__C1Fea Link_showFocus__ALyv2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2026-03-31\/israel-passes-death-penalty-sentence-nationalist-killings\/106514372\" data-component=\"Link\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/article\/106514372\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">recent Israeli laws approving the death penalty for Palestinians who murder Israelis<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">It also includes support for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Israel&#8217;s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2026-02-10\/israeli-west-bank-settlement-draws-growing-global-condemnation\/106325522\" data-component=\"FullBleedLink\" class=\"RelatedCard_link__rsgR9 FullBleedLink_root__lTw_U interactive_focusContext__yRhc_ interactive_defaults__AKxUU FullBleedLink_showVisited__g3Xvz\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">International condemnation over Israel&#8217;s plans for West Bank<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP RelatedCard_synopsis__cFwMW Typography_sizeMobile14__u7TGe Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">The United Nations says it is &#8220;gravely concerned&#8221; over Israeli plans to expand control over the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The draft includes a line &#8220;unreservedly condemn[ing] terrorism and violent extremism, including as perpetrated by Hamas&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">But unlike previous platforms, it contains little that calls Labor governments to concrete actions like recognition, other than suggesting sanctions &#8220;as necessary&#8221; on illegal settlements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">In a four-page statement to the media, Israel&#8217;s embassy has taken issue with multiple elements of the draft platform.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">It contends that Israeli settlements are not violating international law, as borders between Israel and a Palestinian state are &#8220;final-status issues to be resolved through direct negotiations&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">It describes settler violence as illegal behaviour but also a &#8220;marginal phenomenon&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;In contrast to Palestinian attacks on Israelis, which continue frequently and are not even condemned by the PA, Israel condemns any vigilante attacks and acts to bring them to justice,&#8221; it said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;In most cases, settler violence targets possessions while Palestinian violence aspires to murder or injure Israelis.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A white man with glasses speaks at a lectern in front of a blue background\" class=\"Image_image__5tFYM ContentImage_image__DQ_cq\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/424c8374c4fa4f613e19626543335fe6.jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-component=\"Image\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP FigureCaption_text__zDxQ5 Typography_sizeMobile12__w_FPC Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">In a four-page statement to the media, Israel&#8217;s embassy in Australia has taken issue with multiple elements of the draft platform. (ABC: Callum Flinn)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">And it continues Israel&#8217;s criticism of Australia&#8217;s recognition of a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;Such recognition does not bring the sides closer but only distances them from one another,&#8221; it said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;Recognition in the absence of genuine reform strengthens the radicals, is perceived as a reward for terrorism, and sends a message that terrorism and intransigence pay off.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The statement takes significant issue with the draft platform&#8217;s stance on the ICC and ICJ, arguing &#8220;both bodies are politicised and maintain a disproportionate focus on the Jewish state&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">It broadly argues Labor&#8217;s draft stance is one-sided.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;[Israel] remains committed to a future in which Israelis and Palestinians live alongside one another in peace and security,&#8221; the statement reads.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;That future, however, cannot be built through unilateral political declarations or international pressure directed at only one side.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Palestine advocates call for stronger stance<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network (APAN) has made its own suggestions for Labor&#8217;s national platform, calling on the party to take a much stronger stance on the issue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">It wants to see stronger commitments around Australia&#8217;s defence exports to Israel and further action on illegal settlements, among other suggestions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;This conference is the moment Labor can choose to draw a clear red line on Australian complicity,&#8221; said APAN executive officer Katie Shammas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;That means ending defence exports that risk contributing to atrocities, confronting the illegal settlement enterprise, and ensuring Australia meets its obligations under international law.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2026-04-14\/palestinian-legal-action-australia-weapons-exports-israel-f-35\/106558340\" data-component=\"FullBleedLink\" class=\"RelatedCard_link__rsgR9 FullBleedLink_root__lTw_U interactive_focusContext__yRhc_ interactive_defaults__AKxUU FullBleedLink_showVisited__g3Xvz\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Palestinian rights groups file legal action over Israel arms exports<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP RelatedCard_synopsis__cFwMW Typography_sizeMobile14__u7TGe Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">Palestinian human rights groups hope the Federal Court provide transparency over Australia&#8217;s weapons exports to Israel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The federal government <a class=\"Link_link__kR0xA Link_link__5eL5m ScreenReaderOnly_srLinkHint__OysWz Link_showVisited__C1Fea Link_showFocus__ALyv2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2026-04-14\/palestinian-legal-action-australia-weapons-exports-israel-f-35\/106558340\" data-component=\"Link\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/article\/106558340\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">has repeatedly insisted it is not manufacturing any ammunition or weapons and exporting it to Israel<\/a>, and has not done so for more than five years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The office of Foreign Minister Penny Wong was contacted for comment on Israel&#8217;s concerns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Asked about Israel&#8217;s complaints, Minister for International Development and Multicultural Affairs Anne Aly said she had yet to see them in full.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">But she said the conference would see the proposal fully debated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;The Israeli embassy can put out what they want to say,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;But the conference is about the Labor Party coming together and settling on our platform and having those robust discussions during the conference in a very democratic way.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israel&#8217;s embassy in Australia has strongly criticised Labor&#8217;s draft national platform, arguing it places too much responsibility for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":947195,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,99,263038,56207,381096,50,4851,22391],"class_list":["post-947194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-australia","tag-israel","tag-israeli-embassy","tag-labor-party","tag-national-platform","tag-news","tag-palestine","tag-palestinian"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116951686018817210","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=947194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/947195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=947194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=947194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=947194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}