Former Labor foreign minister Bob Carr has welcomed Bill Shorten’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as he leads a controversial push to give Palestine immediate state recognition.
The ALP’s NSW branch is expected to pass a strongly worded motion at its conference later this month, as revealed in The Australian, “urging the next Labor government to recognise Palestine”.
Weighing in on the issue for the first time since returning from holiday, the Opposition Leader said NSW was allowed to “debate all manner of issues” but refused to say whether the federal party would revisit its Middle East policy if the motion succeeded.
“We support the right of Israel to exist within secure boundaries and we support the legitimate aspiration of Palestinians to have their own country. That’s the policy which is the Labor position and will continue to be Labor’s approach,” Mr Shorten said.
Mr Carr, now director of the Australia-China Relations Institute, supported the comments, which he indicated were compatible with NSW Labor’s position.
Read the full article by Rosie Lewis at The Australian (subscription only).