Key Points
- Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has criticised West Bank settlements as illegal and a barrier to peace.
- Wong also met with Palestinian communities affected by Israeli settler violence.
- Australia has pledged $21.5 million in humanitarian aid for Gaza, but warned that it must be used "appropriately".
Penny Wong has criticised the building of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as illegal under international law and a barrier to peace.
The foreign minister held talks with Palestinian communities affected by Israeli settler violence.
"We have a very clear view about settlements," Wong told reporters in Jerusalem.
"We believe settlements are contrary to international law. We have also consistently said that they are an impediment to peace."
Wong reaffirmed the government's position that West Bank settlements weren't consistent with the "pathway to a two-state solution".
"It is clear from the conflict that the path to peace demands a just and enduring two-state solution," she said, adding that it demands the recognition of Palestinians’ aspirations for statehood and security for Israelis.
"We don't believe — as the Australian Government, we've made that clear — that settlements are consistent with that pathway to a two-state solution."
Wong says aid package must be used 'appropriately'
Wong also told Palestinian officials Australian aid must be used for delivering vital services to civilians, in a warning against allowing terror groups to access the funding.
She met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, where she raised her expectation a $21.5 million humanitarian package would be used to pay for healthcare and childhood education.
"I expressed to them that it was extremely important, given the focus on this, that any funds Australia provides are used appropriately for the provision of the services that we are seeking to fund," she told reporters.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said there were well-documented concerns with funding given to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees being siphoned off by Hamas.
He said it was "totally inadequate" that the government was relying on assurances from the Palestinian Authority - which doesn't govern Gaza - that Australian taxpayer money would not be misspent.
The visit included meetings on Wednesday with officials from Israel and Palestine as calls for a ceasefire grow, more than 100 days since the deadly 7 October attacks by Hamas.
Aid group warns of relief delays
International aid organisations have warned it will still be some time before Australian relief funds make it onto the ground in Gaza.
UNRWA's deputy director of operations Scott Anderson said it would be several days at least before any of the relief funding makes its way to people on the ground because of the conditions, warning there were no safe places in the region.
"It takes about a week, give or take, for that journey to take place, and then we bring it in through the (border) crossing," he told ABC Radio on Thursday.
"Once we get in it, we'll move it along. Things move just a little bit slower, but things do make it."
After talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Senator Wong met with the country's national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and visited a Holocaust remembrance centre.
The foreign minister had shared the "strong concerns the Australian people have about the death toll in Gaza" with the Israeli president.
Those views were backed in at home by cabinet minister Ed Husic, who said a more enduring and sustainable peace would come from Palestinians being able to have their own state.
"Too many innocent Palestinians have lost their lives ... and people should be able to speak up on behalf of humanity on either side, with respect to Israeli lives that were lost, but also the disproportionate number of Palestinians that have lost their lives," he told ABC's 7.30.
Penny Wong toured the world Holocaust Remembrance centre in Jerusalem on Wednesday. Source: AAP / DANIEL WALDING/PR IMAGE
"A sustainable ceasefire is critical but so is a long-term, peaceful solution for children in the region," he said.
"Not only are we seeing children killed in Gaza, but we're also seeing children face a lack of access to the humanitarian aid they need to survive."
The federal government has also come under fire for not supporting in Gaza.
Senator Wong said while Australia respected the independence of the court, it did not mean it supported the premise of South Africa's case.
"We will continue to work for a just and enduring peace between Israelis and Palestinians," she said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese noted Australia was not a participant in the case against Israel but said "that doesn't mean we agree with some of the assumptions they have in the South African case at all".
Senator Wong will also travel to the United Arab Emirates as part of her week-long visit to the Middle East.
