Israel, Gaza war: Opposition says Labor Government should pressure Hamas to accept US-brokered peace deal

An international legal expert is urging the Government to cut military ties with Israel, while the opposition says Australia should pressure Hamas to accept a US-brokered peace deal.

The 20-point peace plan, supported by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, would see Israel and Hamas lay down their arms and Donald Trump installed as the head of a transitional government for the Palestinian enclave.

The US President has given Hamas “three-to-four” days to accept the proposal, promising a “very sad end” if the listed terrorist group doesn’t comply.

Mr Trump also suggested there was “not much” room to negotiate on the plan.

The Federal Opposition’s most senior Jewish MP, Julian Leeser, said the Labor Government has built political capital with Palestinian officials by recognising Palestinian statehood at the United Nations.

He argued the Government should now use that capital to pressure “Hamas and other Palestinian actors to come to the table and agree to this plan”.

“We want to see Hamas out and playing no further role in the future of Gaza. And we want to see a lasting peace,” Mr Leeser told ABC radio on Wednesday.

As the saga drags on, a United Nations expert has warned Australia’s international credibility is on the line, if it fails to sever defence agreements with Israel.

Australian human rights lawyer Chris Sidoti will address the National Press Club, warning the Government risks being complicit in genocide if it fails to act.

“We should be ending all defence co-operation, including closing the Australian Government’s Defence and Trade office in Jerusalem,” he told AAP before his speech on Wednesday.

“The responsibility is simply to take whatever action is necessary to prevent the genocide in Gaza from occurring.”

Mr Sidoti is one of three commissioners, selected by the Human Rights Council, which found Israel’s war crimes in Gaza constituted genocide in a landmark 72-page report released earlier in September.

The former Australian human rights commissioner also urged Canberra to apply more comprehensive sanctions on and ensure no Australian-made parts were going into Israeli war planes.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose Government has sanctioned far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, used a trip to the UN last week to press Australia’s bid for a UN Security Council seat in 2029.

But the nation needed to act as a leader now, Mr Sidoti said.

“Australia, which aspires to be a good international citizen, which wants to be a member of the UN Security Council, needs to be leading the way in upholding international law,” he said.

“This is critical to Australia’s international credibility and even more critical to our own self-respect.”

More than 70 Australian companies have contributed to the global supply chain for the F-35 fighter jet program, according to the defence department.

Israel has used its F-35s in Gaza, meaning Australia would be contributing to “the international criminal activities of the Israeli military” if its components were used in those jets, Mr Sidoti said.

Mr Albanese and Defence Minister Richard Marles have repeatedly batted away questions about the supply chain saying it is managed by US weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

That was a cop-out, Mr Sidoti said.

“It’s not a matter of economic interests. It’s a matter of international legal obligations,” he said.

“The Palestinian people in Gaza have no way to escape from the scorched earth policy, the saturation bombing and the slaughter being conducted by the IDF.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rubbished the report Mr Sidoti co-authored at the UN General Assembly as “baseless” and denounced other claims of genocide in Gaza.

More than 65,000 people have been killed in Israel’s nearly two-year military assault on Gaza, according to the local health ministry, after Hamas reportedly killed 1200 Israelis and took a further 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

A majority of the fatalities in Gaza are civilians, including more than 20,000 children.