Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday brushed off accusations from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Australian leader is a “weak politician who had betrayed Israel” by recognizing a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu’s rebuke came after an announcement by Albanese on Monday last week that his government’s recognition of a Palestinian state would be formalized at the UN General Assembly next month.
The announcement was followed by tit-for-tat cancelations of Australian and Israeli visas.
Photo: AFP
“History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews,” Netanyahu wrote on social media on Tuesday.
“I treat leaders of other countries with respect. I engage with them in a diplomatic way,” Albanese said yesterday. “I don’t take these things personally. Increasingly there is global concern, and global concern because people want to see an end to the cycle of violence that we have seen for far too long. That is what Australians want to see as well.”
Australian Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke on Monday canceled the visa of Israeli lawmaker Simcha Rothman, a member of Netanyahu’s coalition, who planned an Australian speaking tour.
Burke yesterday accused Netanyahu of “lashing out” against Australia as he had done against the UK, Canada, France, Ireland, Norway and Spain over recognition of a Palestinian state.
Burke denied that Albanese was weak.
“Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry,” Burke told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar on Monday revoked the visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority.
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