Israeli embassy calls Labor draft platform one sided

The Israeli embassy in Canberra has issued a sharp critique of the Australian Labor Party's draft national policy platform, calling it one-sided and arguing it places disproportionate responsibility for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Israel. The criticism, detailed in a lengthy statement, comes as Labor prepares for its 50th national conference, scheduled for July 23-25 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

The draft platform, which was released to party delegates earlier this month, reaffirms Labor's recognition of a Palestinian state, demands an end to illegal Israeli settlement activity and the occupation, and expresses opposition to any Israeli annexation of Palestinian territory. It also supports the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, the latter of which is considering a genocide case against Israel. Furthermore, the draft condemns an Israeli law passed in March expanding the use of the death penalty for terror offenses in the West Bank and urges the Australian government to block support for settlement activity and extremist settler violence, calling for sanctions if necessary.

In its statement, the Israeli embassy argued the platform...