Topics: Peter Dutton visit to Israel; Australians advised to leave Lebanon; Tensions in Middle East;

07:05AM AEST
2 August 2024

 

James Glenday:  For more on the tensions in the Middle East, we’re joined now by the Shadow Foreign Minister, Simon Birmingham from Adelaide. Good morning, Senator.

 

Simon Birmingham: Good morning, James. Good to be with you.

 

James Glenday: Tensions, of course, have been rising in the Middle East for some time, particularly in the past couple of days. And your leader, Peter Dutton, has been there meeting with senior Israeli figures, including Benjamin Netanyahu. Has he now returned home?

 

Simon Birmingham: Yes. Peter is back in Australia. It was an important visit. We approach now the 12-month anniversary in a couple of months’ time of the October 7th attacks that Hamas undertook against Israeli citizens, the largest single killing of Jewish people on a single day since the Holocaust. So, this was an important visit and opportunity for Peter to indeed meet with Israeli leaders to engage across civil, community and society as well, and to understand indeed the work that is happening there, but also to express that continued support for Israel’s right to self-defence, the importance of humanitarian assistance in the region and, of course, the ultimate desire to see a peaceful solution for all.

 

James Glenday: Mm, the Government’s been warning Australians to leave Lebanon for some time. That stepped up yesterday with the Foreign Minister putting out a video statement. It says there are contingencies in place to get people out should things escalate further. Have you had any briefings on this and are you satisfied with the Government’s response so far?

 

Simon Birmingham: Peter Dutton and I wrote to and then received from the Government briefings quite a number of weeks ago now. We saw that this situation was increasing in tension and risk, and that there was an important need to understand that the government was doing contingency work. But I think it’s also important to understand that there are limitations to what any Australian Government can do. That’s why the message is to Australians to not travel to Lebanon and not be in southern Lebanon to leave if you are there are all incredibly important. Because those limitations that exist are real and if you stay and borders close and situations become dangerous and you are unable to get out, then you are asking other Australians to put themselves in danger to get you out. That’s just not a fair proposition. And its why people always need to understand the limitations of what can be done in foreign governments and foreign nations and circumstances where you are in danger, which is why people should leave and should not travel.

 

James Glenday: Ever since the October 7th attacks, Israel has vowed to eliminate the leadership of Hamas. There’s been pretty consistent on that. What did you make of the strike on Ismail Haniyeh, which of course occurred in Iran? And do you think, like many analysts do, that Israel was responsible?

 

Simon Birmingham: Well, responsibility is one I will leave for analysts and others. Ultimately, nobody is going to mourn the death of a significant terrorist leader who has the blood of both Israelis and Palestinians on his hands. Along with the rest of the Hamas leadership, who continue to tragically hide amongst Palestinians all too often to hide their terrorist infrastructure and capabilities and still hold hostages amongst the Palestinian people. All of which, of course, has put so many lives at risk and seen so many lives tragically lost. And so, what could end this conflict, what could achieve a cease fire would be to see all of those hostages released, and to see the Hamas leadership stop fighting and stop hiding amongst the Palestinian peoples, but actually surrender their terrorist infrastructure and capabilities.

 

James Glenday: Critics of this strike say that Haniyah was pretty key in terms of ceasefire talks up until this point, and they also argue that it could trigger a wider Middle East conflict, which would not only lead to a lot of human tragedy, but also big ripple effects on the global economy, things like inflation as well. What do you think should be done right now to try to de-escalate things and avoid a wider conflict?

 

Simon Birmingham: Well, James, nobody would wish to see a wider regional conflict. That’s why talks, and diplomacy are always so very, very important. I just outlined before what is critical in terms of achieving a ceasefire. And that is why maximum pressure on the Hamas leadership from all players to release hostages and to be in a position to be able to create a ceasefire. Ultimately, Hamas have refused to do that from the last ceasefire offers. They refuse to release the hostages to comply with those ceasefire terms and tragically, the conflict continues.

But as we saw overnight with the fabulous news in the release of Evan Gershkovich and others from Russia, where there is diplomacy, where there are talks, then there is hope, even in the darkest of moments and times. And Evan Gershkovich had just received a 16-year sentence only recently, but now, happily, is being released, albeit a reminder of the difficulty again of these circumstances and a price paid through the prisoner swap that does create other risks for the future.

 

James Glenday: Yeah. Just, lastly, Senator, we are short on time. Do you know what message Peter Dutton delivered to Benjamin Netanyahu? Did he urge him to avoid a wider Middle East war?

 

Simon Birmingham: Look, we have been clear in our support for Israel’s right to self-defence. I’ve got no doubt that Peter was clear about that. But along with the aspiration to see regional stability, the welcoming of the fact that that has been achieved in many ways through Israel’s opening up of relations with countries like the UAE and other partners across the region that have been consistent in their relations through even the period since October 7th, and it’s important to continue to build that. Ultimately, Iran is the big destabiliser in the region, the sponsors of Hamas, of Hezbollah, of the Houthi rebels, and it is for the world to try to hold Iran to account and to get them to cease this type of disruption.

 

James Glenday: All right, Senator, we’re going to have more on this story throughout our program. But thank you so much for joining us from Adelaide this morning.

 

Simon Birmingham: Thanks, James. My pleasure.


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