Peter Duttons ramps up attack on Penny Wong and Anthony Albanese

Peter Dutton has unleashed on both Penny Wong and Anthony Albanese, accusing them of trying to relive their uni days for a political win.

Peter Dutton has dialled up his attack on Labor after he accused Foreign Minister Penny Wong of damaging Australia’s relations with Israel for a “political win”.

The Opposition Leader used an address on Wednesday to issue a bruising take-down of Senator Wong over remarks she made earlier in the week which left the door open for Australia to back Palestinian statehood at the UN.

Senator Wong argued that Palestinian statehood could be a way of “building momentum” towards a two-state solution and putting statehood at the end of the process had failed for the past 30 years.

Speaking on Thursday, Mr Dutton repeated his remarks and claimed the government had not consulted with Palestinian leaders or the community prior to the speech.

Mr Dutton did not disclose which leaders he was referring to.

“I think Penny Wong and Anthony Albanese are living out their university prejudices, views created on university campuses for them in the 1980s that don’t have relevance in this day and age,” he said.

Mr Dutton ramped up his criticism of Labor’s recent Palestine comments. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Appleyard

“Hamas is a listed terrorist organisation like al-Qaeda, they dragged (Israelis) out on the street, they still hold hostages, and we’ve got Penny Wong out there criticising Israel for not fixing the situation.

“Israel, don’t forget, is a country, the only democracy in the Middle East they provide us with a lot of support, there’s intelligence they’ve provided to Australia over the years … And why would we want to treat Israel the way Penny Wong is at the moment, I’ve got to say is beyond me.”

He noted recent reports in The Australian that Labor powerbrokers in fear seats in western Sydney with large Muslim populations are vulnerable to independents running on pro-Palestine platforms.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry chief Alex Ryvchin said the timing of Senator Wong’s comments were “problematic”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese brushed Mr Dutton’s criticism aside earlier on Thursday morning as nothing but “more nasty negativity”.

He stressed there was essentially nothing to see here given his government’s longstanding commitment to a two state solution.

“We think that there’s a role for the international community and that is one of the discussions that is taking place from the world,” he told Sky News.

“This has been a source of conflict and division. And what is in the interests of both Israelis and Palestinians, and the region, and indeed the world, is for a settlement here.

“It seems to me that that is a pretty sensible proposition going forward and that is precisely what Penny Wong has envisaged. Just what David Cameron spoke about weeks ago.

“It’s what a range of leaders around the world have said.”

Mr Albanese stressed that Hamas could not have any role in Palestinian statehood.

Mr Albanese has essentially said there is nothing to see here when asked about Penny Wong’s speech. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA NewsWire

But the head of the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia Izzat Abdulhadi cast doubt on whether it was possible to completely extricate Hamas from Gaza.

“You can (weaken) their own military capabilities, but Hamas is part of the Palestinian people,” he told ABC Radio.

“Hamas is a philosophy, Hamas is an idea.

“If Hamas wants to be part of the two state solution, should agree on the Palestinian Authority PLO program, which based on international law.”

Both Mr Albanese and Senator Wong have left the timing of any potential recognition of Palestine deliberately vague.

More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry, since the conflict was triggered by Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.

The attack left 1200 people dead and more than 250 people taken hostage.