Anthony Albanese deflects criticism over Palestinian recognition move, says media and Ley fed Hamas propaganda

Anthony Albanese has deflected criticism he has emboldened terrorists by advancing Australia’s recognition of Palestinian statehood, and blamed others for the political storm it evoked.

The Prime Minister instead pointed the finger at the Australian media and the Opposition for feeding into “Hamas propaganda” after the terrorist group issued contradictory statements about his decision.

Despite the confusion, Opposition leader Sussan Ley intensified her criticism of the PM saying he was “making a real mess of this” and called for him to “get back to domestic matters”.

“The Prime Minister has said he’s not a cheerleader for Hamas. The problem is, that Hamas is a cheerleader for him,” she told reporters in Adelaide on Thursday.

“They’re calling our Prime Minister a man of courage on a day when a terrorist organisation calls our Prime Minister a hero, surely he has to think about reversing the decision that led to that.

“It is time for the Prime Minister to get back to important domestic matters.”

Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef had lauded Australia on the move in a statement to Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday, saying the PM displayed “political courage”.

The comments unleashed a wave of criticism borne out of the idea that Australia’s foreign policy was being praised by terrorists.

Hamas disowned the statement by Thursday morning, posting on its Telegram channel the group “denies the issuance of any statement”. But in a twist, the terrorist group had reverted their stance by the afternoon.

Jumping on the confusion in a defensive morning press conference, Mr Albanese hit out at the media for what he claimed was “publishing propaganda”.

“They say that the alleged statement from the person yesterday was someone who’s been in prison in Israel … since October 2023 and has no means of communication,” Mr Albanese said.

The SMH later clarified that quotes from the senior Hamas official were supplied by “Yousef’s political office in Beituina, a town near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, which issues statements on his behalf”.

Reporter Matthew Knott also confirmed again on Thursday Yousef’s office had released the statement and that he would soon be released from jail.

The paper’s stablemate the Australian Financial Review published the statement from Hamas denying the comments, saying Yousef had been in jail since October 2023 with “no means of communication with any local or international press outlets”.

However, late on Thursday Hamas issued another statement to the ABC, this time from media director Ismail Al-Thawabta lauding Labor’s call.

“Such a move reflects a growing global awareness of the necessity to end the injustice suffered by our people for decades,” the terror group’s spokesman told the public broadcaster on Wednesday.

“We call on the Australian government to translate this recognition into concrete actions – by exerting diplomatic pressure to end the Israeli occupation.”

Earlier in the day, Mr Albanese cautioned the media against disseminating propaganda before moving on to attack the Opposition for being critical of his call to recognise statehood at UN leaders meeting next month.

He even came prepared to his defensive press conference with a list of pro-Palestione quotes his political rival Ms Ley made in 2011.

The Coalition have long supported the two-state solution with Israel and Palestine but has criticised the PM for declaring he would recognise Palestinian statehood in September when listed terrorist organisation Hamas is still in control of the region.

“We do support a two-state solution, but we don’t support it outside of a proper peace process and a proper two-state process,” Ms Ley said.

Ms Ley’s criticisms were not just for the pathway for lasting peace in the Middle East but also putting Australia’s relationship with our closest ally, the US, in jeopardy.

She called the PM a “bystander” in the alliance.

“It’s vital that the Prime Minister addresses this issue because right now the relationship between Australia and the US feels as if it is drifting,” she said.

The Coalition also called on Mr Albanese to “urgently explain” why he refused a US request to sign a joint-nation statement condemning anti-Semitism in the wake of the terror attack on October 7, 2023.