Penny Wong has urged Israel not to take over Gaza and worsen the ‘humanitarian catastrophe’.
‘Australia calls on Israel to not go down this path, which will only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,’ Wong said.
‘A two-state solution is the only pathway to secure an enduring peace – a Palestinian state and the State of Israel, living side-by-side in peace and security within internationally-recognised borders.
But Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief Alex Ryvchin said Israel taking over Gaza would mean the defeat of Hamas, the designated terrorist organisation whose actions started the latest conflict.
‘I think that the worst thing that could happen is any form of civilian return to Gaza,’ he told ABC radio.
‘When you have a situation where Hamas refuses to lay down its arms, refuses to release the hostages, refuses the ceasefire that’s been on the table since the end of May, it leaves no choice but to complete the job militarily.
‘And that’s clearly what the prime minister is planning to do.’
Overnight, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his nation intended to take military control of all of Gaza in the latest development in the bloody war in the strip that began almost two years ago.
Penny Wong has urged Israel not to take over Gaza and worsen the ‘humanitarian catastrophe’
‘We intend to,’ Mr Netanyahu told Fox News when asked if Israel would take over the entire territory.
Israel would eventually hand over the territory to Arab forces, which would govern it, he said.
‘We don’t want to keep it,’ Mr Netanyahu said.
‘We want to have a security perimeter. We don’t want to govern it. We don’t want to be there as a governing body.’
Mr Netanyahu is due to hold a meeting of his cabinet to discuss the plans.
