By Renju Jose
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday stepped up his personal attacks on Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese over his government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state, saying Albanese’s political record had been damaged forever.
Diplomatic ties between Australia and Israel have soured since Albanese’s centre-left Labor government last week announced it would conditionally recognise Palestinian statehood, following similar moves by France, Britain and Canada.
The decision prompted Netanyahu to launch a personal attack on Albanese and he doubled down on his condemnation in an interview to be broadcast on Sky News Australia.
“I think his record is forever tarnished by the weakness that he showed in the face of this Hamas terrorist monsters,” Netanyahu said, after describing Albanese earlier this week as “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.”
Sky News Australia released the comments ahead of the broadcast of the full interview on Thursday at 8 p.m. (1000 GMT).
Albanese on Wednesday played down Netanyahu’s criticisms, saying he did not “take these things personally” and that he treated the leaders of other countries with respect.
Last week, Albanese said the Israeli prime minister was “in denial” about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the U.N. has warned of the risk of widespread starvation and international pressure is growing for Israel to allow unrestricted aid into the territory.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry in separate letters sent on Wednesday to both leaders urged them to discuss differences through diplomacy rather than public posturing.
“We write to express our deep dismay and concern at the recent ‘war of words’,” the letters said.
“If things need to be said publicly, they should be said using measured and seemly language befitting national leaders. Australia and Israel are mature democracies and their governments need to act accordingly,” the council said.
Israel this week revoked the visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority after Albanese’s government cancelled the visa of an Israeli lawmaker over remarks it considered controversial and inflammatory.
Netanyahu has been facing global pressure over Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 60,000 Palestinians according to the enclave’s health ministry, and displaced most of the population.
Israel’s military announced the first steps of an operation to take control of Gaza City on Wednesday, calling up tens of thousands of reservists despite many of Israel’s closest allies calling for it to reconsider.
The offensive began after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 more hostage. Israel is currently considering a new ceasefire proposal.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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