Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has emphasised the need for Israel to retain “security control” over any future Palestinian state, and praised Australia as a “clear-eyed” nation “willing to puncture United Nations hypocrisy”.
He made the remarks during a joint press conference in which he and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull heaped praise on each other’s countries.
Mr Turnbull welcomed Mr Netanyahu as the first Israeli prime minister to visit Australia, saying, “We have so much in common: shared values, democracy, freedom, rule of law, two great democracies, one small in size, one vast.”
He described Israel as a “truly miraculous nation”, founded on the “most ancient history” but still at the cutting edge of technology.
Mr Netanyahu – who prefaced his remarks with a “G’day mate” – praised Mr Turnbull for his News Corp article, in which Mr Turnbull accused the UN of bias over recent resolutions condemning Israel for breaching international law.
Mr Netanyahu said he had been delighted to read what he described as the “seminal article” by Mr Turnbull.
The Israeli leader invited Mr Turnbull to Israel in October to mark the centenary of the charge of the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba.
Asked about recent criticism of Israel by former Labor prime ministers Bob Hawke and Kevin Rudd over continued Israeli settlement expansion into the West Bank – which included their suggestion of the recognition of a Palestinian state – Mr Netanyahu said, “I prefer not to deal with labels but with substance.”
Read the full article by Deborah Snow at The Sydney Morning Herald.