Israeli Embassy Challenges Australian Labor Platform Over Hamas Language

Israel's embassy in Canberra issued a four-page statement challenging the Australian Labor Party's draft national platform before its conference in Adelaide. The embassy said the draft risks assigning responsibility for the conflict to Israel while giving insufficient attention to Hamas and Palestinian leaders. It objected to provisions on settlements, settler violence, Israel's death-penalty law and support for international courts, and noted that final wording dropped an earlier line saying Hamas must disarm and have no role in a Palestinian state. Labor ministers said the party conference would decide the platform.