ANKARA

Australia hit back at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday over his scathing attack on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after Canberra announced that it will recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.

During an interview with ABC News, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Netanyahu had “lashed out” at countries backing Palestinian statehood but Australia would not be intimidated.

"Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry," he said.

“Strength is much better measured by exactly what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has done, which is when there’s a decision that we know Israel won’t like, he goes straight to Benjamin Netanyahu.”

His reaction came after Netanyahu’s office said Tuesday in a post on the US social media company X’s platform that Albanese is a “weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.”

Burke also defended Australia’s recent decision to cancel the visa of far-right Israeli Knesset member Simcha Rothman ahead of his speaking tour this month because of his past comments calling children in Gaza the “enemies” of Israel.

“If anyone wanted to come on a public speech tour, and they had those views publicly expressed about Israeli children, I would block the visa,” Burke said.

“I am going to not have a lower bar for the protection of views that are bigoted views against the Palestinian people,” he added.

On Monday, the Australian government canceled Rothman’s visa, barring him from entering the country for three years.

In November 2024, Australia denied a visa to former Israeli Interior and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked over her support for illegal settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

On Monday, Israel also canceled visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority in response to Australia’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state and ban the entry of a far-right Israeli politician.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong called the Israeli decision an "unjustified reaction" to Australia’s move to recognize Palestine.

Several countries including France, the UK, Malta, Canada and Portugal have also announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly meeting next month in New York.

The recognition comes as Israel has continued a brutal assault on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 62,000 people since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.