1. The International Affairs Policy Committee of ACT Labor considered the catastrophic and deteriorating situation in Gaza at its regular meeting on 21 May 2025. 2. While the Committee unreservedly condemned the brutal Hamas assault in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, and acknowledged Israel’s right to respond against Hamas and act in self-defence, it is convinced that the manner in which the Netanyahu Government has responded and the consequent enormous death toll and suffering among innocent civilians is indefensible at any level and prima face constitute war crimes. The Committee strongly supported an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire and the resolution of issues through dialogue.
3. The Committee also condemned the taking of hostages by Hamas and their use as human shields and bargaining chips, and called for their immediate and unconditional release.
4. The Committee condemned in the strongest possible terms the Netanyahu Government’s not only indifference towards, but active punishment of, the civilian no-combatant population of Gaza through bombing that consistently fails to discriminate between civilians and combatants, repeated displacement of populations, and interference with or complete denial of humanitarian aid and the necessities of life. This has continued to escalate to the point where the Netanyahu Government is now openly trying to starve Gaza into submission. With little prospect of Hamas capitulating, this only results in innocent Gazans suffering more.
5. The Committee was particularly alarmed by the Netanyahu Government’s recent revelation that it intends to permanently occupy and effectively annex Gaza. Taken together with the creeping annexation of the West Bank through illegal settlement activity and open discussion of what amounts to ethnic cleansing, scope for a just resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict through a two-state solution in which the two live side-by-side in peace and security is closing, and the prospect of never-ending conflict is increasing.
6. The Committee endorsed and fully supports the Labor Government’s approach to this crisis, with a strong emphasis on achieving a ceasefire and enabling the unfettered delivery of humanitarian aid to the long-suffering Palestinian people, and the unconditional release of all hostages. It also strongly supported the Government in holding firm to the objective of addressing the underlying cause of conflict through a just and lasting two-state solution.
7. The Committee also understood, supported and attached great importance to the efforts of the Government to insulate Australian society from the divisive effect of the conflict on our communities by modelling and encouraging respectful and measured debate. It recognised how difficult it can be to achieve that, particularly when racist elements are actively using this issue to ferment hatred against both the Jewish and Islamic communities, and certain political parties are leveraging it to their own perceived political advantage.
8. The Committee believed that the Netanyahu Government’s deliberate and unjustifiable abandonment of the ceasefire established earlier this year, its publicly stated absolutist war aims, and its intensified punishment of innocent civilians, demands a strong international repudiation. While understanding the reasoning behind the Labor Government’s measured language on the Gaza issue, the Committee believes recent events justify a stronger, while still measured, public stance.
9. The Committee is also very concerned that recent proposals from the Netanyahu Government and the Trump Administration on the conduct of future humanitarian assistance to Gazans are aimed at using humanitarian assistance as a strategic lever, directed and turned on and off as part of Israel's war strategy, in contravention of international law and norms. The Committee believes the Government should express its grave concern about this and continue to call for the free and unfettered delivery of humanitarian assistance. At the same time, if all other avenues for aid delivery are closed, the Government should prioritise the urgent delivery of its humanitarian assistance, and use what leverage it can to counter attempts to use aid for strategic advantage.
10. The Committee recognised that the Government is already engaged in a range of activities behind the scenes to contribute towards peace in Gaza, and understands that such activity is often most effective when it remains in the shadows. It recognised that Australia alone cannot have any.
significant impact on the parties to this dispute, and that we can have the most impact by using our diplomatic coin acting in concert with a broad coalition of like-minded countries.
11. The Committee welcomes and strongly supports the Australian Government's recent joint statement with the United Kingdom, France and Canada condemning the use of starvation as a tool of war and encourages the Government to continue to press for the free and unfettered delivery of humanitarian assistance. The Committee firmly believes that, while the United States will remain a decisive factor in progress towards both an immediate ceasefire and long-term resolution of the Palestine issue, the approach being taken by the current Trump Administration cannot be relied upon. It believes that,
in these circumstances, it falls to other well-intentioned countries, including Australia, to work collaboratively both to address the current crisis and lay the foundations for a future just solution, as it has on the question of humanitarian assistance. The Committee would like to see the Government join more consistently with those and other like-mindeds to increase effective pressure on the Netanyahu Government, including with respect to the threat of sanctions.
12. Conscious of Australia's long history of helping drive international opinion and problem solving through deft, often behind-the-scenes diplomacy, the Committee believes there is scope for greater Australian engagement in efforts to promote both a lasting ceasefire in the short term and an eventual two-state solution. The forthcoming United Nations Conference on Palestine in June 2025 provides an important opportunity to take forward such efforts.
13. The Committee recalled that it is long-standing Labor policy that Australia will recognise the State of Palestine as part of a comprehensive two-state solution, and noted that the issue of recognition of the State of Palestine, including through full membership of the United Nations, will be a key outcome discussed at the forthcoming Conference. The Committee believes that, acting together with a broad range of like-minded states, this is an appropriate time for Australia to consider taking the next step of affirming Palestinian statehood through diplomatic recognition and full UN membership. It considers that, with the Netanyahu Government abandoning any pretence of working towards a two-state solution and the Trump Administration’s apparent endorsement of this, it is of critical importance to send a clear message that the breadth of the international community will not accept any outcome that does not involve two states co-existing in peace, prosperity and security.
14. When doing this, the Committee believes the Government should explain and emphasise that diplomatic recognition and UN membership are not ends in their own right, but rather an affirmation that only a two-state solution is acceptable, and is a necessary step towards achieving a two-state solution that addresses the concerns of both the Palestinian and Israeli people and facilitates a process leading to a just and mutually-acceptable peace.
15. The Committee notes that use of starvation of civilian populations, intentional targeting of buildings or vehicles clearly identified as humanitarian (including those with peacekeeping, aid and medical purposes) and causing harm to civilians that is disproportionate to a specific military aim are all war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It notes further that the International Court of Justice has found sufficient evidence to consider that the Netanyahu Government may be committing the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people.
16. The Committee is extremely concerned that the prospects for a peaceful, permanent solution to the Israel/Palestine issue through a two-state solution is evaporating. In Israel, disillusionment about the possibility of reaching a viable agreement with a Palestinian partner has, over a period of decades, driven public opinion increasingly into the hands of extremists bent on annexation and elimination of any prospect of a Palestinian state. This trend was accelerated by the 7 October attack, which struck at the existential fears of Jews around the world. The Committee recognises that no positive outcome can be achieved without reversing this.
17. At the same time, the Committee understands that a two-state solution also requires a credible and empowered Palestinian representative entity with which to partner, and that this cannot include organisations committed to the destruction of the state of Israel and therefore also opposed to a two-state solution. It is also clear that the Netanyahu Government is actively working against the emergence of a viable Palestinian partner, preferring to fight extremist Palestinian elements. The Committee is convinced that a solution can only be found in strengthening forces of moderation and sidelining forces of extremism on both sides.
18. The Committee believes commitment to a two-state solution without addressing these core issues will not deliver peace and justice. The Committee encourages the Government to work, in concert with a broad selection of like-minded countries, to identify and build consensus around an alternative pathway to a sustainable two-state solution. This is particularly important while the Trump Administration has effectively walked away from that objective. That pathway should include strengthening forces in Palestine committed to peace and a two-state solution, and mobilising the massive foreign investment and assistance that will be needed to build a viable and prosperous Palestinian State committed to co-existing in peace with Israel. At the same time, that pathway should give Israelis confidence that a two-state solution will result in lasting peace and security and encourage them to also turn away from the extremist politics of the Netanyahu Government.