Australia and the US call for end to Gaza violence

Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne has weighed in on the escalating conflict in Gaza, calling for all parties to “halt violence”.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne has joined the Biden Administration in calling for Israel and Palestine to stand down as violence escalates in the region.

Speaking alongside the US Secretary of State in Washington, Senator Payne reiterated Australia’s concerns about Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

“We have unequivocally called on all leaders to take immediate steps to halt violence, to maintain restraint and to restore calm,” Senator Payne said in a joint address.

“Our strong view is that violence is not a solution.

“Whether they are rocket attacks, or indiscriminate acts that fuel the cycle of violence and bloodshed, they are also never justified.

“We have urged all parties to refrain from violent or provocative acts calling for a halt to any actions that increase tensions.”

Foreign Affairs Marise Payne speaks to the media during a press conference in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said they were working hard to encourage all sides to stand down.

“Palestinians have a right to live in security, and to live in peace, just as Israelis do,” Mr Blinken said.

Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles said it was vital that every step was now taken to de-escalate the situation in Israel and Palestine.

“What we’re seeing unfold is a tragedy,” Mr Marles told Sky News.

The Israeli Defence Force on Friday announced its air and ground troops were “attacking” Palestinian-controlled Gaza.

Officials have since denied a ground incursion was under way, but Israeli tanks were reportedly amassed on the border.

IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip.

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 13, 2021

The latest round of violence was sparked by an Israeli court ordering the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in Sheik Jarrah, East Jerusalem.

Israeli forces also raided Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque – a sacred site for both Jews and Muslims – during prayers in Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims.

Hamas has since fired over a thousand rockets into civilian areas across Israel, killing seven people.

Gaza’s health ministry confirmed 109 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli air strikes, including 27 children, and a further 580 had been wounded.

Smoke billows from an explosion as another air bomb falls during an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Picture: Said Khatib/AFP

Human Rights Watch last month declared Israeli authorities were “committing the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution” in occupied Palestinian territories, including widespread land confiscation.

“This intent to dominate underlies Israel’s crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution,” it said.

But the Israeli foreign ministry last week downplayed the evictions as a “real-estate dispute”.

Australia-Israel and Jewish Affairs Council executive director Dr Colin Rubenstein insisted Israel had “the right and duty to defend all its citizens from attack”.

“While the death of any civilian is a tragedy, responsibility for any such death in Gaza must be sheeted home to Hamas for orchestrating violence,” he said.