Australia PM urges immediate ceasefire

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott calls for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

“It should be a ceasefire immediately by both sides. That’s what there should be, because plainly, too many people are dying. It’s just wrong what’s happening, so there should be a ceasefire,” he says in an interview with Radio 3AW.

Asked if Israel is perhaps overreacting in its military operation, Abbott admits that in recent days he was “rather more focused” on Malaysian flight MH17, which was shot down over Eastern Ukraine, than on the Gaza conflict and that he’s therefore reluctant to judge. “All I say is that there should be an immediate ceasefire. Innocent people are dying. But, we must also be working towards a long-term solution that does involve the recognition of Israel’s right to exist behind secure borders.”

Abbott, considered one of Israel’s closest friends in the international arena, also says that he doesn’t necessarily support “every single thing that the Israeli government does because… they’re capable of making mistakes just like everyone else is, but no one intends, or should intend, any attack which results in the death of innocent people.”

He reiterates Canberra’s support for Israel’s right to self-defense and the Palestinians’ right to a state of their own, but adds that “that’s got to go hand-in-hand with the recognition of Israel’s right to exist behind secure borders. The problem in the Middle East is that in the end so many people are not prepared to accept Israel’s right to exist.”

— Raphael Ahren