Australia's Minister for Social Services, Tanya Plibersek, has condemned the behaviour of Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir as 'shameful' and 'disgraceful'. Speaking on RN Breakfast, Plibersek stated: 'I think it was absolutely disgraceful behaviour and I'm very pleased to say that the foreign minister has said that in the strongest terms to the Israeli government. Our Australian ambassador in Israel has made the position of the Australian government very clear that this behaviour is completely unacceptable.'
Greens call for stronger response
Greens senator Nick McKim went further, telling RN: 'That is abhorrent treatment of people by a senior figure in the Israeli government. People are being degraded. They're having their human rights abused. It is effectively a form of torture. And the simple fact is that Israel is now a rogue state. They're kidnapping people, including Australian citizens, from international waters on the high seas. It's basically an act of piracy … I mean, this demands the strongest possible response from our prime minister and our foreign minister. A far, far stronger response than they've delivered to date.'
McKim's comments underscore growing frustration among some Australian politicians over the government's handling of the incident, which involved the seizure of an Australian citizen by Israeli forces.
