PM under fire after Australia backs UN resolution calling for immediate Gaza ceasefire

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has come under attack after Australia sided against Israel in a UN vote, which is set to deepen the divide.

Anthony Albanese is under fire after Australia sided against Israel in two Pro-Palestine United Nations resolutions hours after the Prime Minister claimed he was “not sure” what the vote was going to be about.

The Coalition has accused Mr Albanese of “gaslighting the Australian Jewish community” after he appeared on Wednesday to either not be across the controversial vote, or unwilling to admit while standing in the Sydney Jewish Museum that Labor would not be aligned with Israel and the US on the resolutions.

The comments came after reports that Mr Albanese had told a private event that people unhappy with Labor’s shift from voting with Israel to supporting pro-Palestine motions even if they were imperfect would soon be more upset.

Asked on Wednesday whether Australia was changing its position, Mr Albanese said: “There are UN votes all the time but we’ll vote consistent with Australia’s position”.

#BREAKING
UN General Assembly ADOPTS resolution A/ES-10/L.32 affirming its full support for the mandate of the UN Relief and Works Agency @UNRWA and deploring the legislation adopted by the Israeli Knesset on 28 October 2024

VOTE:
In favor: 159
Against: 9
Abstain: 11 pic.twitter.com/KTlsA8V86k

— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) December 11, 2024

By the next morning, Australia was at odds with Israel after backing two resolutions - one calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the other supporting the work of the controversial aid agency United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

The government resumed financial support for UNRWA earlier this year after the organisation was cleared following an investigation into allegations members were involved with terrorist group Hamas.

But this has angered critics who argue the links between UNRWA and Hamas remain.

Israel has restricted UNRWA’s activities, which Australia has opposed.

Australia’s vote at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) aligned with that of key allies, including Britain, France, Japan, and Canada.

A total 159 countries voted in support of the UNRWA resolution and 158 backed the ceasefire resolution, with the vast majority of Israel’s Western allies supporting both.

Anthony Albanese is under fire after Australia sided against Israel in two Pro-Palestine United Nations resolutions hours after he claimed he was “not sure” what the vote was going to be about. Picture: John Appleyard

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said for the past year, the world has been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate and unconditional release of hostages.

“Today 158 countries voted in favour of this, including Australia, the UK, NZ, Canada, Japan and Germany,” she wrote on X.

“We want this war to end and the hostages home.”

The US and Israel were among nine countries to reject both resolutions.

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson accused the Prime Minister of “gaslighting the Australian Jewish community while standing at the Sydney Jewish Museum supposedly being concerned about anti-Semitism”.

“One of the reasons why this is important is not just because our foreign policy is important, not just because standing with our allies and friends like the United States is important, but because we know that anti-Semites in Australia conflate Israel with Jews,” Mr Paterson said.

“So when the Australian government abandons or even worse, vilifies Israel, anti-Semites take encouragement from that and that gives them license and that’s why it’s a serious problem.”

Australian Ambassador James Larsen speaks during the UN General Assembly. Picture: X

Australia’s Ambassador to the UN James Larsen said they had some reservations about the wording of the resolutions, however, they voted in favour because it was committed to ending the suffering of the millions of Palestinian.

“The current situation in Gaza is catastrophic, the human suffering unbearable,” he said.

“Israel must take urgent action to alleviate this humanitarian crisis, in line with the binding orders of the International Court of Justice.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion said it was a “mark of shame for Australia” that the Albanese government decided to support the vote “knowing full well how wrong it is”.

He rejected the government pointing to the 158 votes from the international community in support of the ceasefire motion, saying that “mere voting numbers do not determine the truth or what is just”.

“By calling for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the General Assembly is effectively demanding that Israel abandon the hostages to their fate, and allow the Hamas terrorists to re-establish themselves as the de facto rulers of Gaza,“ Mr Aghion said.

“Although the resolution calls for the ‘immediate and unconditional release of all hostages’, it does not make the release of the hostages interdependent with the ceasefire and does not require Hamas to lay down its arms.”

Anti-Defamation Commission chair, Dr Dvir Abramovich, said the vote was a “black mark that will haunt our nation for years to come”.

“Australia’s vote will embolden those who spew hatred, those who intimidate Jewish communities, those who daub swastikas on synagogues, and those who see every Jew as a target,” Dr Abramovich said.

“The UN’s moral compass is broken, but we expected better from our own government. Instead, we are left with shame and the fear of what comes next.”

Originally published as PM under fire after Australia backs UN resolution calling for immediate Gaza ceasefire