From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 15, 2024
Australian foreign minister departs Adelaide ahead of visit to Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong takes off from Adelaide on her way to Jordan, before reaching Israel tomorrow evening.
Wong has irked Israel with her decision not to visit communities near the Gaza border in which Hamas carried out massacres, rape, and kidnapping.
All visiting senior officials, including foreign ministers, are invited by the Foreign Ministry to visit kibbutzim such as Kfar Aza and Be’eri, and many have toured the ruins. However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has not visited during his six trips, nor did the Canadian and Japanese foreign ministers on their recent visits.
Wong will be meeting with families of hostages, as well as families of Palestinian victims of settler violence.
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council expresses its disappointment in a statement, saying that “you need to see the sites of the October 7 pogrom to fully appreciate the appalling magnitude of these barbaric massacres.”
Australia also has yet to publicly criticize South Africa’s case against Israel in The Hague.
Wong will meet Foreign Minister Israel Katz, President Isaac Herzog, and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, but will not meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
She will be in the West Bank on Wednesday and is slated to fly from Israel to the UAE on Thursday.
The Times of Israel Community.