Netanyahu 'needs to listen' to international community, says Albanese
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Australia's Foreign Minister addressed the UN Security Council in New York, emphasizing the critical need for "de-escalation" and "dialogue", pressing for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
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Australian Senator Penny Wong during a United Nations Security Council meeting on September 25, 2024. (Social media)
Anthony Albanese, the Australian Prime minister, has called for the Israeli Prime Minister to "listen to the international community" amid its relentless aggression on Lebanon.
In a similar vein, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also warned that the world "cannot allow any party to obstruct" peace in the Middle East, urging an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
Albanese sent a strong warning to Benjamin Netanyahu hours after the Israeli government rejected rising international calls to commit to a three-week truce with Hezbollah.
"I say to prime minister Netanyahu that he needs to listen to the international community, just like the other players in that region need to listen to the international community," he told reporters during a Melbourne visit.
“The calls are very clear when you have the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, other nations all calling for a de-escalation of this conflict," Albanese said.
On her part, Wong addressed the UN Security Council in New York, emphasizing the critical need for "de-escalation" and "dialogue", while simultaneously accusing Hezbollah of not complying with the UN's Security Council resolution 1701, affirming that despite this, Lebanese civilians should not be held accountable.
“Lebanon cannot become the next Gaza. Just as in Gaza, Australia calls for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.”
Wong added in a direct message to "Israel" that "war has rules," stressing that the world is calling for a ceasefire and that the captives must be released, supplies must be delivered, and "this humanitarian catastrophe must end."
She also reiterated the Australian government's view that a "two-state solution" was "the only hope to finally break the endless cycle of violence - for a secure, prosperous future for Palestinians and Israelis."
"The international community - including this security council - must work together to pave a path to lasting peace," Wong told the audience. "We cannot wait for the parties to do this themselves; we cannot allow any party to obstruct the prospect of peace."
She did not expand on which countries she felt were blocking peace, and there is no indication that Australia is going to acknowledge Palestine unilaterally.
For months, the Australian government has been exchanging ideas with other nations about how to generate momentum for a "two-state solution", and it has stated that recognition of Palestinian statehood does not need to wait until the end of a peace process.
More than 140 UN member nations have already acknowledged Palestine as a state, including Spain, Norway, and Ireland, which did so in May of this year.
At the time, the Albanese administration rejected requests from the Greens to quickly follow suit, resulting in the crossbench defection of former Labor Senator Fatima Payman.
