Australian Member of Parliament Andrew Wallace. Photo: Screenshot

A group of Israeli politicians has called on Australian Members of Parliament to reject their country’s support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ahead of the upcoming Australian federal election.

In a letter signed by eight members from both governing coalition and opposition parties in the Knesset (Israeli parliament), lawmakers raised concerns about the Australian government’s increasing hostility toward Israel and the rising wave of antisemitic attacks against the local Jewish community in Australia.

Its signatories — including Ohad Tal of the Religious Zionism party, chair of the Australia-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group, and Amit Halevi from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party — also urged Australian politicians to abandon support for a two-state solution, claiming that continuing to back it would reward Hamas and those seeking to destroy Israel.

“While Australia’s main political parties formally continue to endorse two states, Israel’s political representatives and public have long opposed such a plan,” the letter read.

“Especially since the Oct. 7 massacre, it is clear that the creation of a Palestinian state would mean the destruction of the state of Israel,” the lawmakers added, referring to Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Addressed to Australian politician Andrew Wallace, former speaker of the House of Representatives, the letter said that rejecting the government’s current stance would “benefit” both countries.

“Such a move would send a strong message of support and friendship to Israel and to Jewish Australians,” the Israeli officials wrote. “It would also express a commitment to common sense, justice, and peace in Israel and in the region.”

The letter comes ahead of Australia’ federal election in May, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces criticism from the conservative opposition for being ineffective in preventing hate crimes against Jews.

Israel has previously called on the Australian government to do more to halt the “epidemic of antisemitism” in the country.

While Albanese defended his government’s response, stating it was doing all it could to combat the recent attacks, Netanyahu blamed the rise in antisemitic incidents on the Australian government’s alleged animus toward Israel, accusing it of holding an “extreme anti-Israeli position.”

The letter was initially given to Australian coalition members of parliament and senators during an event in Parliament House in February, celebrating the launch of the Australia-Israel Allies Caucus.

“The consequences of Oct. 7 must include the deletion of the two-state option rather than rewarding the savages who committed the massacre,” the letter read. “A Palestinian state would serve the sole, defining, antisemitic goal of Palestinian nationalism: the eradication of the Jewish state.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Penny Wong, reaffirmed the government’s position supporting both a Palestinian state and the state of Israel, “living side by side in peace and security, within internationally recognized borders.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has previously criticized the Australian government, saying it treated Israel as “an adversary” by urging Jerusalem to scale back its military actions against Hamas in Gaza.

“The Albanese government has adopted adversarial positions towards Israel to shore-up Labor votes in certain seats where there are, undeniably, anti-Israel and antisemitic views,” Dutton said.

According to Nasser Mashni, the president of Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, this letter reveals the “true intentions of the Israeli government, which has never been interested in the Palestinian people achieving self-determination or liberation.”

“It confirms what we’ve always known, and what Israel’s genocide in Gaza underscores – the two-state solution has always been a hollow promise, designed to enable Israel to maintain its apartheid and occupation while the rest of the world ignores Palestinian justice,” Mashni said.