“Australia is urging Israel not to go down this path, which only exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement Friday, Reuters reported.
Wong said that permanent forced evacuation is a violation of international law and a repeated call for ceasefires, and that it will flow without hindering it.
“The two state solutions are the only pathway to ensuring lasting peace, living side by side with peace and security within the internationally recognized border,” she added.
Australia, which has yet to join western allies such as Britain, Canada and France, said it would make a decision “at the right time” when it announced it would recognize the Palestinian state while escalating criticism of Israel’s actions.
Wong’s comments come in response to Netanyahu that Israel intends to take military control over all of Gaza in an interview with Fox News.
He said he wanted to hand over the territory to the Arab troops governing it without elaborating on the governance arrangements or the possible involvement of Arab states.
This means that the Israeli Cabinet agreed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to occupy Gaza city.
MA/PR