Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Birmingham has firmly rejected suggestions Israel is “collectively punishing” Palestinian civilians for the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists.
“The attacks of Hamas against Israel were horrific. They were targeting babies, children, the elderly and others, and they were targeting them because they are Jews.
“Israel is seeking to disable Hamas and its ability to be able to operate as a terrorist threat in the future, and that is exactly something that we should continue to support.”
Senator Birmingham said all loss of human life was tragic, regardless of whether they were Israeli or Palestinian.
But he noted that Hamas has been able to operate freely from Gaza and engage in terrorist activities for years, adding that the terrorist organisation is currently holding over 200 Israeli hostages.
“Israel is within its rights to seek to remove Hamas from an ability to undertake such strikes in the future, and hopefully from an ability to be able to rule over people living in Gaza as well,” Mr. Birmingham said.
He added that peace negotiations could only occur if Hamas was removed.
“You can’t negotiate with terrorists in this type of instance. You can’t expect to get improved outcomes,” he said.
“What we’ve seen by Hamas sitting in power for so long and building its capabilities and capacity is this tragic, abhorrent action that has taken so many lives and is now causing so much human suffering.”
Mr. Birmingham’s comments come after Labor frontbenchers Ed Husic and Anne Aly said Palestinians were being “collectively punished.”
“You’ve got homes, schools, medical centres destroyed,” Mr. Husic told ABC radio on Oct. 19.
“That’s before we even contemplate how they’ll get rebuilt. No food, fuel, medicines, water.
“I feel very strongly that Palestinians are being collectively punished here for Hamas’s barbarism.”
Ms. Aly backed her colleague, saying it was “difficult to argue that what is currently occurring is not a form of collective punishment” and called for a ceasefire.
Mr. Husic and Ms. Aly appear to be following the line of Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
‘Absurd’ to Supply Enemy: IDF
But a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces, Jonathan Concricus, highlighted that Israel’s supply of water to Gaza only amounted to about 10 percent or less.“So when it comes to a cynical abuse of humanitarian aid and putting priorities of first Hamas and then the civilian population, Hamas does all that at really an abominable level,” he told ABC.
“Hamas governs the Gaza Strip. We are at war with Hamas and therefore I think that it is a bit absurd that we are asked to provide sustenance to the very same enemy that is trying to kill us.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has, on a number of occasions, “unequivocally condemned” the attack on Israel by Hamas and recognised the right of Israel to defend itself.
“The motion that was carried in this Parliament on Monday unequivocally condemned the attack on Israel by Hamas. It then went on to say that Israel does have a right to defend itself, and we stand by that,” he told Parliament on Oct. 19 in response to Greens leader Adam Bandt’s question on whether the Labor government would oppose an “invasion” of Gaza.
“We saw the tragic consequences of Hamas’s decision to cross into Israel and to murder young people attending a concert. We know that people were taken hostage and taken back into Gaza,” Mr. Albanese said.
“We know, as well, that there have been tragic consequences for Palestinian civilians. And we mourn every single life that is lost, whether it’s Israeli or Palestinian.”
