Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has praised US President Donald Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire deal in Gaza during a speech commemorating the two-year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Speaking in Parliament, Albanese described October 7, 2023 as “a day of pain and terror for Jewish people around the world.” The assault showed that “Hamas stands in opposition to all humanity and all that we value as human beings,” he said.
He emphasized that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people, said he welcomed Trump’s plan, and called for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley also spoke in parliament, criticizing the Albanese administration for not taking a firmer stance in support of Israel and the United States. She called on pro-Palestine protesters to stop, specifically calling out mass demonstrations that have taken place recently at the Sydney Opera House.
In New Zealand: Foreign Minister Winston Peters also commemorated the attack in a parliamentary speech, calling for a ceasefire and the return of all hostages in Gaza.
He added that the government had chosen not to formally recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly in New York recently because it believed this would be a “distraction or even complication to achieving a ceasefire, the return of hostages and remains, and the unimpeded flow of aid.”
