Statement on the Announcement of a Ceasefire Agreement Between Israel and Hamas

I welcome the announcement of another ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, after over 15 months of tragic conflict.

Once again, Israel is conceding more than its fair share in the interests of peace in the Region, pledging to release nearly 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for just 33 of the innocent Israeli hostages who remain imprisoned by the barbaric Hamas regime.

I welcome the announcement with an understandable amount of trepidation and apprehension. Palestinian leaders have repeatedly undermined ceasefires and peace deals with utter impunity.

We must remain vigilant, sober-minded, and realistic about the agreement. And we must remember why this war began.

On 7 October 2023, over 3,000 Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, murdering 1,200 men, women and children. They took over 250 hostages – many children and students – whom they abused, tortured, and in many cases, executed. They employed rape as a weapon of war, engaged civilians as human shields, and used schools and hospitals as fronts for military activity. Alongside Hezbollah, the Houthi, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hamas has continued to destabilise democracies and radicalise communities in the Middle East.

While welcoming the reprieve, we must acknowledge that a ceasefire in the conflict today is not a guarantee of peace tomorrow. It will do nothing in the crucial task of combatting antisemitism and the crisis of hate which has afflicted Australia and the western world. Terrorists, fuelled by hate and funded by the Islamic Republic of Iran work day and night to eliminate the State of Israel and their democratic allies. Terror apologists, masquerading as warriors for Palestinian solidarity, continue their campaign of defamation, disruption, divestment and violence.

And Anthony Albanese, Penny Wong, and the Australian Government have continually waged a systematic campaign against Israel and the Jewish people, putting the professional pro-Palestinian protest movement ahead of Australia’s national security, community safety, economic interests, and social cohesion.

For every gutless omission, for every cowardly act of appeasement, and for every second of weak leadership, Anthony Albanese and his government must be held to account. Australia is more divided, less safe, and increasingly unrecognisable with each day that Labor sits at the helm.

Meanwhile, the Coalition under Peter Dutton is leading from Opposition on the issue of antisemitism. We successfully legislated to ban symbols, and despite sustained resistance from the Albanese Government, the Nazi salute. We will assemble an Antisemitism Taskforce, deport antisemitic offenders, commit $32.5 million for Jewish community safety initiatives, establish a Judicial Inquiry into Antisemitism on Campuses, and repair Australia’s relationship with Israel and our allies.

Australians demand strong leadership on antisemitism and national security. We can’t forget the price of unbridled antisemitism.

As Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter, Simon Wiesenthal said,

“There is no denying that Hitler and Stalin are alive today...they are waiting for us to forget, because this is what makes possible the resurrection of these two monsters.”

Let me conclude with the words of Anne Frank, whose reflections have marked generations of holocaust memory:

“That's the difficulty in these times: ideals, dreams, and cherished hopes rise within us, only to meet the horrible truth and be shattered. It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet, I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.”