Israel criticizes Australian Labor Party document as one-sided in Middle East conflict

Israel's embassy in Canberra issued a rare public rebuke of Australia's ruling Labor Party on Monday, warning that a draft policy platform ahead of the party's national conference presents a one-sided view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and unfairly places responsibility on the Jewish state.

The unusually direct criticism reflects Jerusalem's concern that Labor delegates could adopt a platform that sharply criticizes Israel while placing comparatively little emphasis on Hamas and the responsibilities of the Palestinian leadership. The conference is scheduled to take place later this week.

"The embassy respectfully submits that several elements of the draft platform risk placing responsibility for the conflict on one party while giving insufficient attention to the decisions, conduct and continuing obligations of the Palestinian leadership and terrorist organizations such as Hamas," the Israeli embassy stated.

The embassy further emphasized that Israel "remains committed to a future in which Israelis and Palestinians live alongside one another in peace and security."

"That future, however, cannot be built through unilateral political declarations or international pressure directed at only one side," the embassy continued.

While expressing concern about the draft platform, the embassy added that it "notes these policy motions are still in draft form, and will continue to engage constructively with the Australian Labor Party through the usual diplomatic channels."

Australian Minister for International Development and Multicultural Affairs Anne Aly dismissed the Israeli criticism.

"The Israeli embassy can put out what they want to say," Aly said.

Speaking to ABC Radio National, Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth stressed that the platform remains an internal party matter.

"We have unequivocally condemned Hamas, including for the atrocities of the 7th of October and its ongoing acts of terror," Rishworth said.

"We want to see a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians can live in secure borders, and I think our prime minister and our government's been pretty clear about that," the minister added.

The Labor Party platform has evolved significantly in recent years. In 2023, it expressed support for recognizing a "Palestinian state," a policy the Australian government implemented in August 2025.

The latest draft expands its criticism of Israel by opposing Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria (internationally known as the West Bank), condemning proposals for the death penalty for terrorists convicted of killing Israelis, criticizing Jewish settler violence and Israel's military control of the disputed territories, and expressing support for the International Criminal Court's politicized arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

While the draft focuses much of its criticism on Israel, it also "unreservedly condemns terrorism and violent extremism, including as perpetrated by Hamas."

According to The Guardian, an earlier version of the draft stated that "Hamas must disarm and can have no role in the State of Palestine." That language was reportedly removed from the version that will be presented at the conference later this week.

The Israeli embassy warned that the change sends the wrong message.

"Any reduction of pressure on Hamas and its redirection towards Israel will continue to empower the terrorist organization," the embassy stated.

The embassy also condemned settler violence as a "reprehensible but marginal phenomenon" and argued that the draft gives it "disproportionate attention." Violent Jewish extremists are believed to number only a few hundred individuals among roughly half a million Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria.

Australia joined a growing number of Western countries in August 2025 by recognizing a "Palestinian state," despite Israel's argument that such recognition rewards Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and undermines prospects for a negotiated peace agreement.

"Peace is built by ending terror, not rewarding it," Israeli Ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon said at the time.

"By recognizing a Palestinian state while Hamas continues to kill, kidnap, and reject peace, Australia undermines Israel's security, derails hostage negotiations, and hands a victory to those who oppose coexistence," the ambassador added.

Relations between Australia and Israel have deteriorated since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack.

Australia's Labor government has repeatedly criticized Israel's military campaign against Hamas and other Iranian-backed terrorist groups, while Israel has argued that Canberra has not placed sufficient emphasis on Hamas' responsibility for the conflict.

Australia has also experienced a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents since the war began.

In December 2025, two Islamist terrorists murdered 15 Jews attending a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach in the deadliest terrorist attack in Australia in nearly three decades.

Many Jewish Australians have since criticized the Labor government for what they view as its failure to adequately confront rising antisemitism.