عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Australian Foreign Minister Criticized for Suggesting Possible Recognition of a Palestinian State

A rainbow appears as displaced Palestinians, who escaped the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, perform Eid al-Fitr prayers next to their tents set up near the Egyptian border, at the Rafah camp in the southern Gaza Strip, 10 April 2024. (EPA)
A rainbow appears as displaced Palestinians, who escaped the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, perform Eid al-Fitr prayers next to their tents set up near the Egyptian border, at the Rafah camp in the southern Gaza Strip, 10 April 2024. (EPA)
TT
20
TT

Australian Foreign Minister Criticized for Suggesting Possible Recognition of a Palestinian State

A rainbow appears as displaced Palestinians, who escaped the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, perform Eid al-Fitr prayers next to their tents set up near the Egyptian border, at the Rafah camp in the southern Gaza Strip, 10 April 2024. (EPA)
A rainbow appears as displaced Palestinians, who escaped the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, perform Eid al-Fitr prayers next to their tents set up near the Egyptian border, at the Rafah camp in the southern Gaza Strip, 10 April 2024. (EPA)

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong is facing criticism after she raised the prospect of Australia recognizing a Palestinian state.

Wong said in a speech late Tuesday that recognizing Palestinian statehood could be the only way to end the cycle of violence in the Middle East and build momentum toward a two-state solution amid ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israel. She said Wednesday she wasn’t changing Australia’s position, but was starting a conversation.

“We’ve made no such decision. The discussion I want to have is to look at what is happening in the international community where there is the very important debate about how it is we secure long-lasting peace in a region which has known so much conflict,” Wong told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Wong said Hamas must free hostages and that the armed group would have no place in a Palestinian state. She also said there needed to be an immediate humanitarian ceasefire so that aid could be delivered to Gaza. And she urged Israel not to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah because of the risk to civilians.

Both Australia’s center-left Labor Party government and the conservative opposition parties support a two-party solution in the Middle East.

But opposition spokesperson on foreign affairs Simon Birmingham called it “downright dangerous to reward (Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel) with a fast track to recognition of statehood."

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
TT
20
TT

Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces indictment on security charges pending a hearing, Israel's attorney general has said, for allegedly leaking top secret military information during Israel's war in Gaza.

Netanyahu's close adviser, Jonatan Urich, has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which legal authorities began investigating in late 2024.

Netanyahu has described probes against Urich and other aides as politically motivated and on Monday said that Urich had not harmed state security. Urich's attorneys said the charges were baseless and that their client's innocence would be proven beyond doubt, reported Reuters.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said in a statement late on Sunday that Urich and another aide had extracted secret information from the Israeli military and leaked it to German newspaper Bild.

Their intent, she said, was to shape public opinion of Netanyahu and influence the discourse about the slaying of six Israeli hostages by their Palestinian captors in Gaza in late August 2024.

The hostages' deaths sparked mass protests in Israel and outraged hostages' families, who accused Netanyahu of torpedoing ceasefire talks that had faltered in the preceding weeks for political reasons.

Netanyahu vehemently denies this. He has repeatedly said that Hamas was to blame for the talks collapsing, while the group has said it was Israel's fault no deal had been reached.

Four of the six slain hostages had been on the list of more than 30 captives that Hamas was set to free if a ceasefire had been reached, according to a defense official at the time.

The Bild article in question was published days after the hostages were found executed in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza. It outlined Hamas' negotiation strategy in the indirect ceasefire talks and largely corresponded with Netanyahu's allegations against the militant group over the deadlock.

Bild said after the investigation was announced that it does not comment on its sources and that its article relied on authentic documents. The newspaper did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

A two-month ceasefire was reached in January this year and included the release of 38 hostages before Israel resumed attacks in Gaza. The sides are presently engaged in indirect negotiations in Doha, aimed at reaching another truce.

In his statement on Monday, Netanyahu said Baharav-Miara's announcement was "appalling" and that its timing raised serious questions.

Netanyahu's government has for months been seeking the dismissal of Baharav-Miara. The attorney general, appointed by the previous government, has sparred with Netanyahu's cabinet over the legality of some of its policies.