section_path: Political views/Foreign policy/Israel-Palestine conflict
section_name: Israel-Palestine conflict
paragraph_text: Israel-Palestine conflict
  
  Albanese's views on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have been the subject of media interest, with The Times of Israel categorising him as a supporter of Palestine. Alongside Joe Hockey, Albanese established the parliamentary "Friends of Palestine" group in 1998. Despite this, he has been a critic of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, calling it "clumsy and counterproductive". During the 2014 Gaza War, he called Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip a "collective punishment" that was "completely unacceptable". In 2018, he challenged a decision by the Australian government to vote against a UN human rights council motion calling for an investigation into the killings of Palestinian protesters during the Great March of Return. Shortly before the 2022 election, Albanese told The Australian Jewish News that any decision he takes on Israel-Palestine will contribute "to a peaceful resolution of the conflict and to progress towards a two-state solution ". When asked about a 2018 resolution to recognise the State of Palestine, Albanese insisted the motion "has no greater or lesser weight" than it did previously. In October 2022, his government reversed the Morrison government's decision to recognise West Jerusalem as Israel's capital. In December 2023, Albanese signed a joint statement, along with the prime ministers of Canada and New Zealand, calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza war. Albanese has been criticised by conservative and pro-Israel opponents for failing to combat rising antisemitism during his term. In December 2024, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu linked the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue to his government's "extreme anti-Israel position", which included supporting United Nations resolutions critical of Israel's conduct in the Palestinian territories.