James Morrow: Albo more concerned with peace at ALP conference than in Middle East

The Prime Minister’s last-minute drop of a statement calling for an end to hostilities in Gaza feels more like it is about appeasing protesters than securing stability in the Middle East, writes James Morrow.

How cynical can this government get?

Just a day before the ALP was expecting massive anti-Labor and anti-Israel protests at its state Labor conference, the government hands down a call for an urgent ceasefire in the Middle East.

But while the statement was clearly written to tell the weekend’s protesters “we hear you”, the government dropped it at 4.59pm on a Friday, presumably in the hope no one else picked up on it.

Talk about “each-way Albo”.

For all its fine words asking Hamas to release hostages, the document — co-signed by the prime ministers of Canada and New Zealand — is nothing more than a call for appeasement.

Perfunctory calls are made for Hamas to lay down arms (as if!) and release its remaining hostages.

But with that throat-clearing out of the way, the statement quickly turns to blaming Israel.

Israel must “listen to the concerns of the international community”. Israel is called upon to respond to the International Court of Justice.

The ALP is worried these sorts of scenes might be repeated outside their state conference this weekend. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Israel is responsible for the deaths of civilians used as human shields by Hamas, despite Hamas profiting from Palestinian suffering in the court of public opinion.

And so on.

Not that it matters much.

Given the sort of weight Australia carries in the halls of the Knesset and the tunnels of Gaza (very little), the statement is best marked as “for domestic consumption only”.

Thanks to skilled propaganda and protest efforts, much of it directed by Iran, the world is in danger of forgetting that Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 in a way designed to maximise civilian brutality.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s electorate office was forced to close by pro-Palestinian protesters. Picture: Noah Yim

Since the attacks, Labor has slowly but surely lost its moorings and allowed itself to be dragged further and further to the left by radical Palestinian activists and by the anti-colonial rhetoric of the academy.

The case of Fatima Payman, and the lengths Labor went to accommodate her (ultimately unsuccessfully), is instructive and shows where the party is going.

Labor’s push for a peace deal, no matter whether it actually does anything to secure long-term peace, reflects the broader problem centre-left parties have around the world.

But a two-state solution will never be achieved so long as Palestinians are governed by, and support, leaders who have something far more sinister in mind.

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