Australia condemns cycle of vengeance in Middle East
Penny Wong has called for restraint amid escalating violence in the Middle East, as Palestinian and Jewish groups prepare to commemorate deadly events.
Penny Wong
Foreign Minister Penny Wong is worried about the escalation of violence in Lebanon, as Hezbollah confirms its leader was killed by an Israeli strike.
Hassan Nasrallah was killed in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Friday, sharpening fears the conflict could widen into a regional war.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was defiant in his address to the United Nations, rejecting calls for a ceasefire.
Senator Wong reiterated her call for Australians to flee Lebanon as soon as they can and said she was concerned about escalating violence.
Asked if she supported Israel’s use of pagers to conduct deadly attacks, the foreign minister pointed to the cycle of violence taking place.
“The continued retribution … will not bring peace and it will not bring security, which is why Australia and others, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have called for a ceasefire in Lebanon and diplomacy to try and resolve this,” she told Sky News on Sunday.
“Because we have seen so many people, so many people die.”
Opposition frontbencher Bridget McKenzie said the assassination was a step that “had to be done to show force” to prevent further escalation.
“What Penny Wong’s calling for on the floor of the UN is absolutely playing domestic politics with a very, very serious situation,” she told ABC’s Insiders.
“She’s trashing our decades long bipartisan approach to a negotiated two-state solution in the Middle East.”
Asked if she backed an immediate ceasefire, Senator McKenzie said Hezbollah needed to get out from the northern border of Israel.
Hamas – designated by Australia as a terrorist group – attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1200 people and taking more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
The attack sparked an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The conflict recently spilled over into Lebanon with the Israeli army responding after the terrorist group Hezbollah fired hundreds of missiles over the border.
Palestinian groups are calling on Australians to stand in solidarity with Gazans on a national day of action on Sunday, ahead of commemorations for the first anniversary of the outbreak of the Middle East conflict.
Demonstrators are preparing to gather at the State Library in Melbourne and Sydney Town Hall, and in smaller cities and towns.
Jewish communities will hold a series of events to observe the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack which Zionist Federation of Australia chief executive Alon Cassuto said carried an immense weight of grief and despair.
“As a community, we will come together to mourn the greatest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, and, as we have done every single day since October 7, call for the remaining 101 hostages to be freed from Hamas captivity,” he said.
Senator Wong used a speech at the United Nations at the weekend to call for a clear timeline for Palestinian recognition, saying peace in the Middle East was the only way to break the cycle of violence.
By: William Ton and Tess Ikonomou/AAP
Penny Wong knows nothing about the probem and should shut up completely on this subject. The so called two state solution is only a salami diceting Israel until there is nothing left. There has beeb a two state with out a solution that is Jordan and Israel. Let that sink in and sink in!
Penny Wong, again ! … Give it a rest Penny. You’re getting boring and it’s obvious you just don’t get it.
I must have missed the original version of Wong’s statement where, surely, there was even the briefest mention of the 100+ hostages still held by hamas.