Hostile reception awaits Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of landmark visit to Australia
Prominent Australians have signed joint statement fiercely critical of Israeli government’s policies towards Palestinians and building of settlements
Business and religious leaders, lawyers, academics, entertainers and former politicians have joined forces to oppose Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Australia, saying his policies “provoke, intimidate and oppress” the Palestinian people and are pushing the Middle East further from peace.
Netanyahu plans to visit just weeks after his government passed a controversial law retroactively legalising 4000 settlers’ homes built on privately owned Palestinian land. The measure has drawn international condemnation and reignited debate about Australia’s approach to Israel.
Last week, US President Donald Trump upended decades of policy on Israel-Palestine by suggesting peace could be achieved through a one-state rather than two-state solution.
Netanyahu will meet Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and other leaders during his four-day visit – the first by a serving Israeli prime minister since the state was formed in 1948 – starting on Wednesday.