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Donald Trump’s ambassador to Israel has questioned how Australia could justify refusing the US president’s invitation to join his Board of Peace, as the Albanese government stalls and says it is seeking more information about Washington’s intentions.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong flagged on Thursday that Australia would be signing up to a new international treaty if it accepted Trump’s invitation, while also defending the government’s decision to invite Israeli President Isaac Herzog to visit Australia after the Bondi Beach massacre.
Trump announced in October that a Board of Peace would be established to oversee the postwar transition in Gaza, but enthusiasm has waned due to fears he was attempting to create his own organisation to rival the United Nations.
Many like-minded countries to Australia have refused to join the body, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has hesitated in his response as he weighs up the cost of rejecting Trump.
Wong said on Thursday the government was interested in a peace plan for Gaza, but was seeking to understand “more closely” what US intentions were.
“The Board of Peace proposal would involve Australia being part of a treaty. Obviously, that is a different kind of arrangement to those which we would generally engage in for these sorts of matters,” Wong told ABC Radio National.
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who previously expressed disgust at Albanese’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state, questioned how Australia would justify refusing to participate given its previous rhetoric on Gaza.
“For Australia not to be a part of it, especially as much noise as they made last year about how we needed to do more for Gaza, and then now you have the opportunity, and you say, ‘yeah, we said a lot of that, but we didn’t mean it, and we’re not going to actually do it’,” Huckabee told Sky News.
“It’s fair to say that a refusal wouldn’t exactly be met with celebration, and I’m not going to say that it has lingering consequences because I don’t know.”
Huckabee, who Trump nominated as ambassador to Israel after his 2024 election victory, denied the board’s objective was to challenge the United Nations.
New Zealand declined Trump’s invitation last week, citing a lack of clarity on the board’s scope and saying participation of countries in the region was more important.
France has rejected the offer, as have economic powers Japan and Germany, while Trump revoked Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s invitation.
Middle Eastern nations including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have joined, saying in a statement they supported the board’s mission in Gaza and advancement of Palestinian statehood, but making no mention of Trump’s global peacemaking plan.
The Trump administration has asked countries to contribute $1 billion each to become permanent members of the peace board, while a non-permanent membership would remain free.
The mandate of the board, approved in November by the United Nations Security Council, is limited to Gaza and only until the end of 2027, but the board’s draft charter does not mention the Palestinian territory. Trump has said it is “going to, in my opinion, start with Gaza and then do conflicts as they arise”.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has continued to ratchet up tensions domestically, with a growing number of politicians expressing concern over the Israeli president’s trip, scheduled to begin Sunday.
Wong defended the invitation on Thursday and said the government “always considers legal advice” on its obligations under international law amid calls for Australian authorities to arrest Herzog for allegedly inciting genocide.
Herzog has been criticised for signing warheads to be dropped on Palestine and for suggesting all Palestinian civilians were responsible for Hamas’ October 7 attack.
Labor backbencher Ed Husic on Wednesday said the trip made him “very uncomfortable” before Independent MPs Andrew Wilkie, Zali Steggall and Sophie Scamps condemned his visit on Thursday as a threat to social cohesion.
“It was entirely inappropriate for the minister for home affairs to allow a visa to be issued for that visit, and it will be entirely inappropriate if the Israeli president visits Parliament House and attends the House of Representatives next week,” Wilkie said.
“If he does, I will not attend the chamber at that time, and I’m confident that that’s what the people I represent want me to do.”
Wong was asked on ABC Radio National whether Australia was obliged to arrest Herzog under international law.
“President Herzog is coming to Australia to honour the victims of the worst antisemitic attack in our country’s history, at Bondi. He’s coming to provide support to the Australian Jewish community. The community asked for President Herzog to visit, and he’s been invited by the governor-general at the request of the prime minister,” Wong said.
“Israel will be judged by the International Court of Justice on its compliance with the Genocide Convention. And I’ve also said previously that it must accept its responsibility for the humanitarian situation in Gaza. But let’s, again, go back to the context of this visit,” she said.
“We have families mourning, and this was a request from the Jewish community for President Herzog to visit. He is here to provide support to that community and to honour the victims of this horrific terror attack.”
With AP
Brittany Busch is a federal politics reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
Nick Newling is a federal politics reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.From our partners
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