Gaza ceasefire: Truce reignites urgent calls for Australia to repair ties with Israel

The ceasefire deal struck between Israel and Hamas has reignited calls for Australia to get its bilateral ties with the Israeli government back on track after months of simmering tensions.

Brokered overnight by Qatar, Egypt and the United States after more than 15 months of bloodshed, the agreement coincided with a high-stakes trip to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus – a move widely viewed as an attempt to fix a troubled relationship.

On Thursday morning, opposition leader Peter Dutton joined the Albanese Government in welcoming the ceasefire as a “constructive step towards peace and stability” in the region.

But he stressed “Australia should now seek to re-establish its important relationship with Israel, which has been damaged so significantly by the Albanese Government over the course of the last year”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year accused the Government of an “anti-Israel attitude”, attacking its position on Palestine and linking it to a spike in anti-Semitism in Australia.

Ahead of his trip this week, the first visit by a Labor minister to the country in a year, Mr Dreyfus said he would underscore Australia’s “deep and enduring” friendship and “long-standing position that peace in the Middle East can only be achieved through a two-state solution”.

He said he would meet with Israeli officials to advocate for “Israel’s security and its right to defend itself in the face of terrorism,” and also travel to the Occupied Palestinian Territories to stress support for “Palestinians’ right to self-determination” and humanitarian aid for Gaza and the West Bank.

The agenda of Labor’s most senior Jewish MP has been kept under wraps for security reasons but he reportedly plans to visit southern Israeli communities that were brutally attacked by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attacks.

After arriving in Israel hours before the announcement of the ceasefire deal, he thanked Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin for a “warm welcome” and “productive discussion” and posted a photo of his meeting with relatives of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 to his X account.

The Australian Government, which has consistently backed a ceasefire in Gaza, called on Thursday for the deal to “mark the beginning of a new chapter for the Israeli and Palestinian people.”

Asked if he would seize the moment to turn a corner in bilateral ties and personally reach out to Mr Netanyahu, the Prime Minister said he had “no issue with Australia-Israel relations”.

“They remain, in my view, strong,” he said.

Mr Albanese said he couldn’t “see any circumstance” where his Government could recognise Palestinian statehood before the next election - due by May – and stressed that Hamas “can play no role” in a future Palestinian state.

“Hamas is the enemy of the Palestinian people, not just the enemy of the state of Israel,” he said.

The ceasefire that struck in the early hours of Thursday morning AEDT will take effect from Sunday and comprises three phases.

The first stage will see a six-week halt to fighting to open negotiations on ending the war and release 33 out of 60 living Israeli hostages from Gaza, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Israeli forces will gradually withdraw from central Gaza to allow civilians to return to the north, and 600 aid trucks will be allowed to enter the Strip every day.

During phase two, remaining hostages, including captive Israeli soldiers, will be freed in return for more Palestinians.

According to the US, this phase would mark “a permanent end to the war” when Israeli forces would completely withdraw from Gaza under a lasting ceasefire.

In phase three, the bodies of deceased hostages would be returned and the reconstruction of Gaza would begin under the supervision of Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.

Mr Albanese on Thursday did not commit Australia to the future reconstruction efforts.

“The first priority is to get food and essentials to the people of Gaza. That’s what the priority is of not just Australia, but the international community, and that is what this agreement has achieved,” he said.

The ceasefire is being touted as an opportunity for Australia to repair ties with Israel after tensions with the Netanyahu administration over its stance at the UN, including a recent vote where Canberra joined 156 nations to demand the end of Israel’s “unlawful presence” in Palestine.

Peter Wertheim, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said while the relationship had been strained, it was repairable.

“I’m not sure that a friendship as strong and as old as that between Australia and Israel can be fundamentally damaged so easily,” he said.

Mr Dreyfus’ mission to Israel was difficult and important, but the whole of Government would ultimately need to stage a response, he added.

Ian Parmeter, a former Australian ambassador to Lebanon, said Mr Dreyfus’ trip could be a first step towards restoring ties.

“I think what Attorney General Dreyfus is attempting to do is to explain to the Israeli Government that in voting the way we did in the United Nations, we were not aiming to be in any way anti-Israeli,” he said. “It was more seeking to improve the prospects for peace.”

But he expressed surprise that Mr Netanyahu had directly criticised Australia, which had “very close” relations with the modern state of Israel dating back to its founding in 1948.

Ran Porat, from the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation at Monash University, said the responsibility lay with the Albanese Government to improve the situation after “distancing itself from Israel.”

“They were the ones neglecting and not listening to the warnings about the growing anti-Semitism. And they are the ones that chose to step away from Australia’s historic positions on many issues in the relationship with Israel,” he said.

The Attorney General’s visit was an “opening for change,” added Mr Porat.

But Prof Karima Laachir director of the ANU Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, countered the Government had made important gestures towards recognising Palestinian sovereignty over its resources, commending Labor’s “progressive” steps towards a two-state solution.

“Australia is hugely respected in the Middle East. It’s a middle power. It can play a fundamental role in pushing for sustainable peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians,” she said.