‘At some point the statements have got to end and the action needs to begin’, member for Chifley says
Labor MP Ed Husic says Australia has tolerated poor behaviour from the Israeli government for too long, calling for a “red line” from Canberra including tougher sanctions, an end to defence cooperation.
Husic - the former industry and science minister – said a pattern of bad behaviour from the government of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, included mistreatment of activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and the destruction of Australian war graves.
“We’ve tolerated this for too long,” Husic told Guardian Australia.
“We’ve issued statements, and they’ve been important in terms of flagging our view, but at some point the statements have got to end and the action needs to begin.”
Husic said there was growing disquiet about Israel among Labor MPs, including after Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, taunted detained flotilla activists last week. The foreign minister, Penny Wong, called in Israel’s ambassador over the incident, while she and prime minister Anthony Albanese have condemned the actions.
