Adam Bandt says Labor ‘slowly moving’ towards Greens’ position on Israel-Hamas war
Greens leader Adam Bandt declares Labor is edging towards the minor party’s hard-left position on the conflict in the Middle East, insisting the Albanese government has been ‘forced to admit that we were right all along’.
Labor is “slowly moving” towards the Greens’ position on the Israel-Hamas conflict, the minor party’s leader Adam Bandt has declared, as he insisted the Albanese government had been “forced to admit that we were right all along” on Middle East policy.
In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Bandt refused to fully support the Australian Federal Police-led task force into anti-Semitism established by the government and hit back at the major parties’ attempts to isolate the Greens over their stance on Israel and Palestine.
After more than a year of domestic political debate about Middle East policy amid the war sparked by Palestinian terrorists killing more than 1200 Israelis and taking 251 hostage, Mr Bandt noted his party had called for an immediate, permanent ceasefire early on in the conflict and said Labor had agreed one was necessary after supporting a UN motion earlier this month for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire”.
Mr Bandt has also accused Labor of being complicit in genocide against Palestinians.
“The Greens called for an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire a year ago,” he said. “We knew that what was about to happen would lead to slaughter and was wrong and we said so at the time.
“Labor and Liberal then spent the best part of a year attacking us and people who pushed for peace but now Labor is being forced to admit the Greens were right all along. Labor is now slowly moving towards our position we’ve held now for a number of months.
“They attacked us at the time for it but now they are voting that way in the United Nations. They’re not yet prepared to put any real pressure on the extremist Netanyahu government to give effect to it and we continue to push for that.”
The Greens’ positioning on the Middle East conflict has been widely condemned by Jewish groups and the government and opposition teamed up in May to oppose a Greens motion recognising the state of Palestine.
Anthony Albanese has also blasted the Greens for encouraging pro-Palestinian protests and sit-ins at electorate offices of MPs while Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi was condemned for posting a photo of herself standing alongside a sign at a student protest that supported putting Jewish people in a bin.
Mr Bandt has also failed to declare support for a two-state solution and wouldn’t label Hamas, which was responsible for the October 7 attacks against Israelis, a terrorist group.
A government spokeswoman said in response to Mr Bandt’s claims that it had been more than a year since Australia voted for a ceasefire at the UN. Australia and the vast majority of the international community had been consistently calling for the war to end, the release of hostages, the delivery of lifesaving aid and for international law to be upheld.
“Over the last year we have seen the Greens shamefully spreading false information and making outlandish demands,” the spokeswoman said.
“The Greens’ actions undermine social cohesion in Australia, and are wildly out of touch with the international community.
“The Greens no longer support a two-state solution – the only realistic pathway to a just and enduring peace between Israelis and Palestinians. As the Foreign Minister (Penny Wong) said in the Hawke lecture on Monday 9 December: ‘As we approach next year’s election, we can expect that Peter Dutton and the Greens have the same goal – to convert global uncertainty into domestic anxiety’.”
But the Prime Minister is also facing increasing pressure from Australian Jews and the Coalition over Middle East policy, with Peter Dutton accusing him of selling out Israel this month to claw back votes in western Sydney after the government switched its vote in the UN to support Palestinian statehood and demand Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories.
Tensions between Labor and the Jewish community escalated when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the party’s “extreme anti-Israel position” for the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue and increasing anti-Semitism throughout Australia.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the government should be embarrassed by any analysis suggesting Labor had moved towards the Greens. “They should condemn the Greens position and Labor should return to longstanding bipartisan positions in support of a negotiated two-state solution,” Senator Birmingham said.
“The Greens’ self-congratulatory tone for moving Labor’s position shows just how wrong the Albanese government has got it with their ever-changing policies towards the Middle East. Most worrying for many will be what a Labor-Greens government could do after the election and how much further the Albanese government could go just to appease the Greens.”
With both major parties attacking the Greens for becoming too radical in their pursuit of issues other than the environment, Mr Bandt said the party had long endorsed economic and social policies. One of his favourite political memories was of former Greens leader Bob Brown “standing up to” then US president George W. Bush when he made a speech to the Australian parliament in 2003 – behaviour that led to Mr Brown being temporarily banned from the House of Representatives. The then senator stood up and shouted during Mr Bush’s address. Mr Brown’s “very strong position” in support of refugees during the 2001 Tampa affair also influenced Mr Bandt.
The Greens leader said Israel and Palestine could coexist but there needed to be an end to the occupation of Palestine and its territories.
“Our position is to support both Israelis’ and Palestinians’ rights to self-determination under international law and ensure there’s a just and lasting peace where they both have the security they’re entitled to,” Mr Bandt said.
“We’ve also made it clear that for that to happen there needs to be an end to the occupation of Palestine and its territories.
“But I’d also say in the last year we’ve seen international courts issue an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu, there have been findings that apartheid is taking place. Amnesty International says what is happening in Gaza is a genocide.
“Over the course of the last year significant international authorities as well as a growing international community have made it clear that what is happening to the invasion of Gaza and the continued occupation of Palestine is utterly unacceptable.”
Mr Bandt refused to explicitly support the government’s newly established AFP-led anti-Semitism task force, saying his party backed an anti-racism strategy that tackled both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
“When this matter first came to parliament and parliament was debating the government’s and the opposition’s motion about what was taking place, I made it very clear our position was no to anti-Semitism, no to Islamophobia, no to the invasion,” he said.
“That is something we’ve consistently said and we’ve said we support a strong, national anti-racism strategy that combats all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.”
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