Foreign Minister Penny Wong pushes for Gaza ceasefire and two-state solution in first official trip to West Bank
Senator Wong travelled into the occupied territory for meetings with Palestinian officials and local residents, a day after talks with Israeli powerbrokers.
She told the Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh that Australia was lending its support to calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza war and a two-state solution.
“I am here to add our voice, Australia’s voice, to advancing the cause of peace,” Senator Wong said.
“I expressed Australia’s support for a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and dignity, and security.”
Senator Wong denied her calls for a ceasefire were inconsistent with Israel’s right to fight against Hamas.
“We have been consistent in Israel having a right to self-defence,” she said.
“What we’ve also said is how it conducts itself in the pressing of that … matters.”
Senator Wong is half-way through a three-day Middle East tour across Jordan, Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates, as regional tensions escalate alongside the war in Gaza.
Arab countries surrounding Israel have condemned the war and human rights organisations say large numbers of Gazan civilians are facing a catastrophic humanitarian disaster of starvation, dehydration, and homelessness.
Senator Wong said she spoke with both the Israeli and Palestinian foreign ministers about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
“I didn’t just express my concerns,” she said.
“What I have consistently sought to do is express the concerns that Australians have, that Australians are concerned with the loss of civilian life that is mounting. Australians are concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza which is dire.
“And that we want to see civilians protected, and we want to see humanitarian access.”
It has been a decade since Senator Wong last visited the occupied Palestinian territories during a study tour.
To get into the territory, the foreign minister had to change into an armoured car at the Israeli-controlled border checkpoint from Jerusalem into the West Bank.
Senator Wong is the most senior Australian official to visit the Middle East since October 7, when Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel.
She also met with Palestinian locals, including those who have been affected by an increase in settler violence in the West Bank since October 7.
But her visit hasn’t contained any diplomatic surprises, with both Israeli and Palestinian officials welcoming the visit, describing Australia as a “good friend”.
Senator Wong’s whirlwind diplomatic tour across the Middle East will end on Thursday when she visits the United Arab Emirates.
SOURCE: ABCNEWS
