Former Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating declines to affix assertion, breaking ranks with six former leaders.
All however one among Australia’s dwelling ex-prime ministers have joined collectively to sentence Hamas, urge Israel to keep away from civilian casualties and specific solidarity with Jewish and Palestinian Australians.
In a joint assertion printed on Monday, the six former leaders mentioned there was no place for racial or non secular hatred in Australia and warned in opposition to permitting the Israel-Hamas conflict to “flip Australians in opposition to one another”.
“We imagine we communicate for the overwhelming majority of Australians, of all faiths and of none, once we say we stand in solidarity with Jewish Australians at the moment,” the previous leaders mentioned.
“Likewise, we stand too with the Australian Palestinian neighborhood whose households are dying and struggling on this horrible battle. They too deserve our love and assist.”
The previous prime ministers condemned Hamas’s October 7 assaults as a “merciless and murderous assault”.
“It was the one biggest bloodbath of Jewish for the reason that Holocaust and its grotesque cruelty and violence was akin to that of ISIS,” the assertion mentioned, referring to the ISIL armed group.
Additionally they accused Hamas of in search of to impress a “response that might kill numerous civilians” in Gaza and having “no extra curiosity within the security of Palestinians than do they of Israelis”.
That is the assertion issued at the moment by six former PMs of Australia pic.twitter.com/nb2moESGak
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) October 30, 2023
However the former Australian leaders additionally mentioned Israel’s conflict in opposition to Hamas have to be accompanied by “assist and safety for the civilian inhabitants of Gaza”.
“Israel guarantees it would do all it could actually to keep away from civilian casualties, we urge it to take action with all of its humanity and talent,” they mentioned.
“We’re horrified by the hundreds of deaths and accidents inflicted on harmless Palestinian civilians, together with many, many Palestinian youngsters.”
Scott Morrison, Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott, John Howard, Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd – former leaders from each the centre-right Liberal Occasion and centre-left Labor Occasion – put their names to the assertion.
Paul Keating, who ruled Australia from 1991 to 1996 beneath Labor, didn’t be part of his fellow ex-prime ministers.
Keating mentioned in an announcement on Sunday that he had declined so as to add his title after being approached by Mark Leibler, the previous president of the Zionist Federation of Australia, with out offering additional particulars.
Australia’s present authorities, led by Anthony Albanese, has acknowledged Israel’s proper to defend itself whereas calling on all sides to point out restraint to guard civilian life.
Some Labor politicians, nonetheless, have damaged ranks to sentence Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
On Friday, Australia abstained from voting on a United Nations decision calling for an instantaneous humanitarian truce in Gaza – which passed overwhelmingly with 120 votes in favour – arguing it was “incomplete” as a result of it didn’t title Hamas.
No less than 8,005 Palestinians, together with greater than 3,200 youngsters, have been killed in Israeli air raids on Gaza, in keeping with authorities within the Hamas-governed enclave.
No less than 1,405 folks had been killed in Hamas’s shock assault inside southern Israel, in keeping with Israeli officers.