Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu interview: Anthony Albanese ‘forever tarnished’ by Palestine pledge

Benjamin Netanyahu has intensified his attack on Anthony Albanese, claiming his “record is forever tarnished by the weakness” he showed “in the face of “Hamas terrorist mentors”.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s renewed criticism comes after Australia’s peak Jewish organisation wrote to both men calling for an end to public posturing.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News’ Sharri Markson, Netanyahu accused the Australian leader’s record was tarnished by weakness.

It comes after he penned a blistering letter to Mr Albanese lambasting Australia’s decision to recognise Palestinian statehood and personal attacks on the Prime Minister in scathing social media posts.

“I’m sure he has a reputable record as a public servant, but I think his record is forever tarnished by the weakness that he showed in the face of these Hamas terrorist monsters,” Mr Netanyahu told Sky, when asked why he believed history would remember Mr Albanese as a weak politician.

“When the worst terrorist organisation on earth – these savages who murdered women, raped them, beheaded men, burnt babies alive in front of their parents, took hundreds of hostages – when these people congratulate the Prime Minister of Australia, you know something is wrong.”

Mr Netanyahu said he was “dismayed” at the level of anti-Semitism that had plagued Australia since the October 7 attack.

“I’ve seen this tsunami of anti-Semitism, of this racism, of this deliberate targeting of the innocents, of the burning of a synagogue in Melbourne and so on. These are horrible things, and if you don’t stop them when they are small, they get bigger and bigger and bigger and ultimately they consume your society.

“I think a lot of western leaders are showing this weakness, or what Churchill called a slumber of democracy. He said democracies go to sleep and they wake up only when they hear a jarring gong of danger. Well, we hear more than a jarring gong, we are hearing alarm bells all over the place.”

Asked what he thought about suggestions Israel was starving Palestinian children and conducting a genocide in Gaza, he said they were the “same lies that were levelled at the Jews in the Middles Ages”.

“They said that Jews were killing Christian children to use their blood, and this preceded a lot of massacres against the Jews, culminating in the worst massacre of all in the Holocaust.”

The Israeli leader, asked about what Donald Trump thinks about Australia’s stance on Palestinian statehood, said “he sort of said, ‘what these countries say is irrelevant’.”

But, Mr Netanyahu said he believed it could fuel “more violence and radicalism” in this country if its leaders “don’t take a stand”

The Israeli leader has made similar attacks on leaders of other countries who have also shifted their stance on recognising Palestine in recent months.

Health Minister Mark Butler has dismissed Netanyahu’s criticism of Mr Albanese as “ridiculous,” insisting the Government will not alter its foreign policy stance and remains focused on maintaining social cohesion in Australia.

“Our Prime Minister treats all other world leaders with respect, even when there’s a deep level of disagreement about a particular policy issue or a particular strategic issue,” Mr Butler said.

“We’re not going to change our posture, our approach to international relations because of a particular position taken by any other world leader.”

Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie squarely blamed the Prime Minister’s recognition of a Palestinian state and the cancellation of an Israeli MP’s visa for creating the diplomatic spat.

“That relationship is tarnished. It will be up to future Israeli governments and future Australian governments to repair it,” she said.

“That decision, combined with the fact that the Prime Minister has cancelled the visa of a member of parliament in Israel, I think, has led us to this place.

“He’s made these decisions and they’ve come with significant and severe consequences.

“Hostages won’t be returned under Anthony Albanese’s plan for recognition, Hamas won’t surrender, and recognising a Palestinian State won’t bring peace to the region.”

Opposition leader Sussan Ley continued her criticism of Mr Albanese’s approach to foreign policy, accusing him on Thursday of “mismanaging” the Australia-Israel relationship.

The Liberal leader told reporters in Brisbane that the Prime Minister needed to work to restore stability with Australia’s long-time Middle East ally.

“Anthony Albanese has mismanaged the relationship,” she said.

“That mismanagement clearly has consequences. But what matters today is that we work hard together to get the relationship back on an even keel.”

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry on Wednesday released letters it had sent the two leaders, urging them to stop their public feud and warning that it endangered Australia’s Jewish community by fanning anti-Semitic sentiment.

It comes as pro-Palestine protesters wanting to stage a rally across Brisbane’s iconic Story Bridge on Sunday suffered a major setback on Thursday after the Magistrates Court granted a police application to block the demonstration.

Queensland Police argued the planned rally, which organisers said could attract up to 10,000 people, posed an unacceptable risk to public safety.

The decision comes just weeks after about 100,000 protesters were allowed to march across Sydney’s Harbour Bridge.

Ms Ley warned that while free speech and the right to protest must be upheld, rallies led by people with “dubious backgrounds and intentions” risk spreading “messages of hate”.

“I want to say that we do support free speech and protests in this country. However, we need to exercise caution when people of very dubious backgrounds and intentions carry out their message of hate at rallies such as this,” Ms Ley said.

“I’ve said several times since we’ve had something similar on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

“To have those images of an iconic Australian landmark, the Harbour Bridge, beamed around the world with background messages of hate from these protesters, is not the image anyone wants to send of this country.”

The government on Thursday updated their Smartraveller advice to tell Australian officials to leave Ramallah as operations at the Australian Representative Office were suspended.

It warned the Government’s ability to provide consular assistance in the Occupied Palestinian Territories was now “extremely limited”.

“Australians in need of consular assistance should contact the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv or Australian Embassy in Jordan.”

It comes as Israel greenlit new West Bank settlements and signalled plans to advance into Gaza City, despite international condemnation and increasing backing for an independent Palestinian state.

On Thursday it was also revealed a 20-year-old Meadow Heights man has been charged with the December 2024 arson attack on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue.

His home was raided on August 14 and has become the second person arrested by Victoria Police and the AFP’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team.