SYDNEY: Australia has urged Israel “not to go down this path,” after Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel intended to take military control of Gaza.
“Australia calls on Israel to not go down this path, which will only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement on Friday.
Wong said permanent forced displacement was a violation of international law and repeated calls for a ceasefire, aid to flow unimpeded and for militant group Hamas to return the hostages taken in October 2023.
“A two-state solution is the only pathway to secure an enduring peace – a Palestinian state and the State of Israel, living side-by-side in peace and security within internationally-recognized borders,” she added.
Australia has not yet joined Western allies such as the UK, Canada and France in announcing it would recognize Palestinian statehood but has said it would make a decision “at an appropriate time,” while escalating its criticism of Israel’s actions.
