Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Canning from moving the following motion immediately—That the House reaffirms Israel's inherent right to self-defence, whether attacked by Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran or any other sponsor of terrorism.

In November of last year, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security was approached by Israel's ambassador, Mr Amir Maimon. Mr Maimon asked us whether we would be willing to watch the 43-minute video, or compilation of videos, that documented in very clear and brutal imagery Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October. I was joined on the coalition side by Senator Paterson, Senator Birmingham, the member for Flinders and the member for Fisher. It was an extraordinary and excruciating 43-minute video—one of the most brutal things I have ever seen, and in my previous career I've seen quite a few videos relating to ISIS and other terrorists. We watched it because we thought it was important to stare evil in the eyes and understand exactly what transpired on that day back on 7 October.

It was clear that this was religiously motivated violence against the Jewish people. It was militant Islamism, and it was very distressing to watch—very distressing indeed. We all left very moved and troubled by what we saw. But there were no surprises on that video, because many of us have engaged with the Hamas charter of 2017, which, in very clear and plain English, documents exactly what the objectives of Hamas are: to destroy the Jewish people and wipe out the state of Israel. And their main method for doing so is violence: violence is the means of expelling the Jewish people from Israel and destroying Israel itself.

Last year, soon after the attacks, both chambers of this parliament passed a motion unequivocally condemning the terrorist attacks of 7 October on Israel by Hamas, including the targeting, the murder and the rape of many innocent women and children, and the taking of hostages and indiscriminate rocket fire. These attacks resulted in the biggest loss of Jewish life on a single day since the Holocaust. Hamas still holds around 120 hostages captive—120 captives who need to be freed, who desperately need to be reunited with their families and who desperately need medical care. But Hamas continues to hold and hide those hostages, just as it hides its terrorist militias and terrorist military equipment among Palestinian civilians and civilian infrastructure, increasing the tragic toll on innocent Palestinian people. Hamas and its supporters in Hezbollah continue to fire rockets indiscriminately at Israel, seeking to inflict maximum pain, death and damage on Israel's civilians and soldiers alike. They and their supporters—and I'm talking about Hezbollah now, in Iran—continue to call for the death of all Jews and for Israel's destruction.

In our bipartisan motion last October, Australia's chambers of parliament resolutely made clear that we stand with Israel and recognise its inherent right to defend itself. We acknowledged the devastating loss of Israeli and Palestinian life, and that innocent civilians on all sides were suffering as a result of the attacks by Hamas and the subsequent conflict. We don't want to see violence, death and destruction. We want peace. But Hamas started this, and Hamas continues this by refusing to release the hostages, surrender, lay down its arms and cease to be a movement. This remains the position of the coalition, and we should never lose sight of the provocative action on 7 October that started this war. It was Hamas that started this war. It is not a legitimate political force, and it should not have a seat at the negotiating table.

Now Hezbollah masses at the border to Israel's north. Since 7 October, Israel has had to deal with not only Hamas but also a steady barrage of rockets and missiles from Hezbollah to its north. Our bipartisan motion makes clear that Israel has an inherent right to defend itself against not just Hamas but also Hezbollah. Hezbollah is Iran's cat's paw in Lebanon. Like Hamas, it is a listed terrorist organisation under Australian law, and it's backed by the Iranian regime. Its motto is 'Death to Israel'. For those of you who doubt what I say, I'll read from the 1985 Hezbollah manifesto, which says:

For the sake of the truth, we declare that the sons of Hezbollah's nation have come to know well their basic enemies in the area—Israel, America, France and the Phalange. Our sons are now in an ever-escalating confrontation against these enemies until the following objectives are achieved—Israel's final departure from Lebanon as a prelude to its final obliteration from existence and the liberation of venerable Jerusalem from the talons of occupation.

These people are committed to violence and they are committed to the destruction of Israel. We need to be very clear about that. It has launched guided rockets and artillery, on 8 October last year and daily since then, and tens of thousands of Israelis have been displaced for months, unable to return to their homes, which are targeted every day by terrorists.

Experts have assessed Hezbollah as having a stockpile of 120,000 to 200,000 short-range guided ballistic missiles, short- and intermediate-range unguided ballistic missiles and short- and long-range unguided rockets. These people are armed to the teeth and they want to destroy Israel and the Jewish people. Hezbollah continues to violate UN Security Council resolution 1701 of August 2006 by deploying forces and firing anti-tank guided missiles and other weapons against Israel from the zone between the blue line and the Litani River, an area that the United Nations Security Council agreed should be an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the government of Lebanon and UN forces.

We all wish to see, as this parliament made clear after 7 October, an end to the war in the Middle East that was started by Hamas on 7 October. This war could end tomorrow if Hamas surrendered, released the hostages and laid down its arms. This parliament stood resolutely behind Israel's right to self-defence against Hamas last year, and the government should make clear whether it still upholds Israel's right to self-defence against the murderous terrorism of Hezbollah and its supporters. Very distressingly, we've read overnight in an article in the Herald Sun written by James Campbell:

Israeli Ambassador Amir Maimon was formally summoned to a meeting in Canberra 10 days ago and warned that the Jewish state could not expect Australia's support if it goes to war against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon.

In a sign of the deteriorating relationship between Australia and Israel, the federal government's position on a potential war in Southern Lebanon was not delivered by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, but was left to Ms Wong's underling, Assistant Minister Tim Watts.

It also goes on to say that Mr Maimon's relationship with the foreign minister has been 'in the freezer' for several months and that summoning the Israeli ambassador to this House can be interpreted as a formal rebuke.

The government needs to make very clear and reaffirm its position on Israel and whether or not it supports its inherent right to self-defence. The government needs to come clean on the status of its support for Israel, which has repeatedly shifted and weakened, despite terrorist groups still holding Israeli citizens as hostages and continuing to seek the destruction of Israel. If this meeting did take place, as reported, then the Prime Minister and the foreign minister need to explain why they didn't front up to tell Israel themselves and why they sent the assistant foreign minister.

We on this side believe that Israel has an inherent right to self-defence. Absolutely and unequivocally, Israel has a right to self-defence. We go back to the United Nations Charter, article 51, which says:

Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations …

Israel has sustained countless armed attacks since 7 October from both Hamas and Hezbollah, which is why this meeting 10 days ago is so troubling. Why is the government shifting its position on this very basic and fundamental right of every nation to self-defence?

This is a weak government which is weak on self-defence, and they are weakening their position with one of our closest and most long-term democratic partners and allies in the Middle East. In fact, Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. We have many people links; we have many military ties; we have many political ties. This is inexplicable, and the Prime Minister needs to come to this chamber and the foreign minister to the Senate to explain why they have taken such a weak position with regard to Israel's self-defence. It's shameful, if true, and they need to come clean and explain their position.

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