Anthony Albanese has condemned Hamas for attempting to use Australia’s support for a ceasefire in Gaza as propaganda, declaring he has nothing but “contempt” for the terrorist group.
An unverified video released overnight showed a man purporting to be a senior Hamas official thanking Western nations, including Australia, for attempting to bring about a sustainable ceasefire through the UN Security Council.
When questioned about the footage on Friday, Mr Albanese issued a blistering response.
“I have contempt for Hamas and I won’t be giving them any publicity, which is what they’re after,” he told reporters.
“Hamas is a terrorist organisation and should be designated as such. I have contempt for what they did.
“An unequivocal condemnation of their actions on October 7, where they slaughtered innocent people.
“And I won’t lend anything positive to say about Hamas and nor should anyone in the Australian media.”
Australia joined New Zealand and Canada to call for urgent international “efforts towards a sustainable ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war in a joint statement released last week.
The declaration, which argued there was no role for Hamas in the future governance of Gaza, condemned the terrorist group for the October 7 attacks.
Mr Albanese said Australia had made its position on the issue “very clear”.
“My statement very clearly, along with the Canadian Prime Minister and the New Zealand Prime Minister, makes it very clear that Hamas should have no role in the future governance in Gaza,” he said.
“Gaza cannot be used as a venue to launch terrorist attacks in the future.”
Australia was among 153 nations who voted in favour of a UN resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza during a general assembly meeting on December 13.
The US and Israel were among the 10 countries that voted against it, while 23 abstained.
A draft of a new resolution is being worked on and another vote may be put to the UN Security Council before Christmas.