Donald Trump offers hope for hostages, but Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong turn on Israel again in UN vote
The Albanese government is set to once again switch its vote on key UN resolutions, including one supporting an ‘irreversible pathway’ to a Palestinian state, as the family of an Israeli hostage said Donald Trump’s Hamas vow had given them ‘some optimism’.
The Albanese government overnight was set to challenge Israel in the UN once again by switching its vote on key resolutions, including one supporting an “irreversible pathway” to a Palestinian state, just hours after US president-elect Donald Trump warned he would unleash hell if Hamas did not release the remaining hostages.
The Australian family of a 20-year-old hostage said the future president’s vow to defeat Hamas had given them “some optimism”, and Jewish groups declared on Tuesday Mr Trump’s “strong and clear stance” showed how betrayed the hostages had been by the Albanese government and the international community over their more than 400 days in captivity.
Mr Trump on Tuesday vowed to hit those responsible for kidnapping the hostages who remain in Gaza “harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied history of the United States of America” if the remaining October 7 hostages are not free by his inauguration on January 20.
A senior government source confirmed to The Australian the government was considering changing its position on three UN resolutions in the General Assembly. One of the motions would demand Israel “bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as rapidly as possible, to cease immediately all new settlement activities and to evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.
It includes an annex calling for a conference next year in New York to “urgently chart an irreversible pathway towards the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and the implementation of the two-state solution”.
Another of the draft resolutions condemns Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights, while a third addresses Palestinian representation at the UN.
A spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said: “As a constructive middle power, Australia approaches UN resolutions to try to achieve the best outcomes we can.
“We don’t always get everything we want. But if, on balance, we believe the resolution will contribute to peace and a two-state solution, we will vote for it.”
It follows the government’s move less than a month ago to switch its position on two other UN votes, backing the “permanent sovereignty” of Palestinians to the occupied territories’ natural resources, and demanding compensation from Israel for a wartime oil spill affecting Lebanon 18 years ago.
Back in Australia, Melbourne-based Nikki Perzuk, who, alongside her family, is still holding out hope for her cousin Naama Levy’s return, told The Australian “finally there is a leader outside of Israel who unequivocally demands the release of the hostages, threatens and pressures Hamas”.
Ms Perzuk said Mr Trump’s recent statements “have given the family some optimism”. “Trump is holding Hamas accountable, supporting his ally and demanding the immediate release of all the hostages. Australia needs strong leadership who are willing to make a stand for what is right,” she said.
“This is a fundamental human rights issue and we expect Albanese and Wong to advocate for citizens like Naama, of an allied country who are being held hostage by terrorists. Our current leadership have done nothing to pressurise Hamas to release the hostages alive.”
She said “our family needs Naama to be released now with all the other hostages”.
“Our hope is for Naama’s immediate release, for her to return to her loving family and for Naama to start the healing process and rebuilding her life.”
The president-elect made the threat on his Truth Social platform on Monday (Tuesday AEDT) after dining on Sunday evening at the Trump International Golf Course in Florida with the wife and son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sarah Netanyahu and Yair Netanyahu.
Senator Wong reiterated her call for peace in Gaza during a visit to Singapore on Monday without direct reference to Mr Trump’s threat.
“Australia stresses the vital need for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza and for the ceasefire in Lebanon to be upheld to prevent further suffering,” she said.
Mr Trump took a strident pro-Israel position in the lead-up to the November 5 US election, suggesting the Jewish state should be free to target Iran’s nuclear sites following an Iranian missile barrage. In contrast, Joe Biden had called for restraint and urged the Jewish state not to target Iranian nuclear or oil facilities.
Calling for the hostages in Gaza to be released, the president-elect posted on Truth Social that everybody was “talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire world, in the Middle East”.
“But it’s all talk, and no action!” Mr Trump said. “Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against humanity.
“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America.
“ RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin told The Australian that Mr Trump’s “strong and clear stance shows how betrayed the hostages have been by the international community, our government and the myriad of international organisations who claim to stand with the oppressed”.
“How differently things could have turned out for those tortured innocents and their families had the entire world said on October 7, ‘release them now’ as the incoming US president has just said,” Mr Ryvchin said.
“Instead, our government has buried calls for their release in convoluted, often contradictory statements about ceasefires and Palestinian statehood.
“In doing so, it has subtly incentivised terrorism by indicating to Hamas that the continued holding of hostages is just an issue to be transacted among others rather than a stain on humanity that must be ended immediately and unconditionally.”
Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein said the comments from a “towering world leader” emphasising and prioritising the plight of hostages, rather than just referring to them as an afterthought, were “welcome and important”.
“If the international community was united in condemning the Hamas terrorists responsible for the war and convincingly demanding the release of the hostages – instead of giving Hamas succour by unfairly condemning Israel while demanding premature ceasefires that would effectively leave Hamas in control – there would be a far better chance they would actually be released and the war brought to end.”
The warning from Mr Trump also comes after a video message of 20-year-old Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was released by Hamas’s military wing over the weekend. It was captioned “time is running out”.
The proof-of-life video shows Mr Alexander saying he had been held hostage for more than 420 days and pleading with Mr Trump to use the “full power of the US” to help secure his freedom.
Additional reporting: Alexi Demetriadi
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