Former Labor leader Kim Beazley has weighed into the growing rift within the party over the Middle East, saying Palestinian leaders have become “very comfortable’’ applying moral pressure on Israel but have not undertaken the hard decisions necessary to reach a lasting peace.
As Bill Shorten prepared to speak to visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, the Labor leader received some last-minute backing for his party’s increasingly tenuous policy on Palestinian statehood.
Mr Beazley said the focus on Israel and Mr Netanyahu, who he described as a “difficult messenger’’ for social democrats to bear, had effectively given the Palestinians a free pass on hard questions such as the issue of Palestinian returns and the status of East Jerusalem.
“I think they have become very comfortable with not arriving at a conclusion but with keeping the pressure on Israel,’’ Mr Beazley said.
His comments put him at odds with former Labor prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Bob Hawke, in whose cabinet Mr Beazley served as defence minister, after the two former leaders called for the formal recognition of Palestine.
Read the article by Peter Maley, National Security Editor in The Australian (subscription required).