EDITORIAL: High stakes in Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus’ Israel peacekeeping mission

Whether it is the prospect of president Donald Trump following through on his threat that “all hell will break loose” if a Middle East ceasefire isn’t reached in time for his inauguration, or the simple fact that a pulverised Hamas no longer has the military capacity to continue its fight, it appears a pause in hostilities in Gaza is finally imminent.

Finally, truce talks are gaining momentum, with Israeli and Arab media outlets reporting officials were on the verge of signing a deal under which 33 Israeli hostages would be released by Hamas terrorists, in return for a staged withdrawal of IDF forces from Gaza.

“On the war between Israel and Hamas, we’re on the brink of a proposal that I laid out in detail months ago finally coming to fruition,” US President Joe Biden said.

US security adviser Jake Sullivan said there was a “a distinct possibility” the ceasefire deal could be reached this week.

The timing would be fortuitous for Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who will this week embark on a peacekeeping mission to the Middle East of his own.

He’s headed to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, on a trip which was originally planned to commemorate the first anniversary of the October 7 massacre of Israeli citizens by Hamas terrorist forces.

The Attorney-General’s mission is to pacify furious Israeli leaders incensed at Australia’s support late last year of a United Nations resolution calling on Israel to end its “unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blame that support by the Albanese Government for the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue which occurred days later.

“Unfortunately, it is impossible to separate this reprehensible act from the extreme anti-Israeli position of the Labor Government in Australia,” he said.

“Anti-Israel sentiment is anti-Semitism.”

Things deteriorated further a week later, when Foreign Minister Penny Wong clashed with her Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar over Australia’s weakening support for the Jewish state.

Mr Dreyfus, who is Labor’s most senior Jewish minister and whose father was a Holocaust survivor, clearly has a massive task ahead of him in repairing Australia’s fractured relationship with Israel.

In a statement, Mr Dreyfus said he intended to re-state Australia’s “long-standing position that peace in the Middle East can only be achieved through a two-state solution — with Israelis and Palestinians living securely and prosperously within internationally recognised borders”.

Should a ceasefire deal with Hamas finally be reached, Israeli officials may find themselves in a peaceable mood at the time of Mr Dreyfus’ visit, which may make them liable to forgive Australia’s significant trespasses against our old ally in its hour of greatest need.