PM Netanyahu escalates attack on Australian counterpart

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday stepped up his personal attacks on Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese over his government's decision to recognise a Palestinian state, saying Mr Albanese’s political record had been damaged forever.

- 

Diplomatic ties between Australia and Israel have soured since Mr Albanese’s centre-left Labor government last week announced it would conditionally recognise Palestinian statehood, following similar moves by France, Britain and Canada.

The decision prompted Mr Netanyahu to launch a personal attack on Mr Albanese and he doubled down on his condemnation in an interview to be broadcast on Sky News Australia.

“I think his record is forever tarnished by the weakness that he showed in the face of this Hamas terrorist monsters,” Mr Netanyahu said, after describing Albanese earlier this week as “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews”.

Sky News Australia released the comments ahead of the broadcast of the full interview, scheduled for 8pm yesterday.