Ex-NSW Premier likens Israel’s actions in Gaza to war crimes committed by Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin

Former Labor foreign minister Bob Carr has likened Israel’s actions in Gaza to war crimes and humanitarian crisis committed by the Nazis, Joseph Stalin and People’s Republic of China chairman Mao Zedong, urging tougher action on from the Australian government. Speaking to Radio National, the former NSW premier and Labor heavyweight said Israel was using “mass starvation against the civilian population as a weapon of war”. “There’s a pattern of behaviour here that really demands comparison with the worst of the last 100 years, of Stalin’s Ukraine, of the Warsaw Ghetto, of Mao’s Great Leap Forward,” he said. “Unspeakable cruelty is being visited against babies and children in the enforcement of something not seen in the modern world, that is an advanced state using mass starvation as a weapon of war and giving effect to a genocide.” Israel has started a “tactical pause” to allow aid agencies to tackle the hunger crisis in Gaza, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government was not to blame for the situation, adding there were “secure routes” for aid. While he welcomed stronger comments from Anthony Albanese that Israel had “quite clearly” breached international law by withholding aid to civilians in Gaza, Mr Carr called for further action. He urged the Prime Minister to follow French President Emmanuel Macron to recognise Palestinian statehood when he attends the United Nations General Assembly in September. On Sunday, the Labor leader watered down the action, stating there needed to be more detail on how a Palestinian state would function, plus assurances there would be no involvement from Hamas. “How do you exclude Hamas from any involvement there? How do you ensure that a Palestinian State operates in an appropriate way which does not threaten the existence of Israel?” Mr Albanese told the ABC. “And so we won’t do any decision as a gesture. We will do it as a way forward, if the circumstances are met.” However Mr Carr said Australia was “giving the impression that we need the comfort of Britain” before recognising Palestine, and urged Mr Albanese to show leadership and act sooner. “I just think Australians are ready to see our country to show a flash of independence, strength and maturity by moving with the French and not huddling and waiting for the sanction that Britain would give us when Downing Street finally gets round to it,” he said. Mr Carr’s comments have been criticised internally, with Labor Friends of Israel co-convener Nick Dyrenfurth calling on Mr Carr to “promptly apologise” for the overly provocative comments. Dr Dyrenfurth said that while he was “gravely concerned with the Netanyahu government’s actions in Gaza,” there is “no genocide taking place”. “Mr Carr is wilfully lying and deliberately stoking community tensions with extremist language and deliberately provoking his former friends in Australia’s Jewish community with Nazi slurs,” he said. The first Muslim MP, and demoted Labor minister Ed Husic also called on Mr Albanese to commit to recognising Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly, stating France has made the decision without needing prior confirmation on the demilitarisation of Hamas. “Hamas absolutely has to be held to account, but the Netanyahu government, in the way that they’ve held Hamas to account and impacted and killed nearly 60,000 innocent Palestinians. That is unacceptable,” Mr Husic told Sky. He said resolving the conflict in Gaza was also about recognising the “humanity of Israelis and Palestinians,” Mr Husic added, stating that “a lot of Israelis suffered deeply on October 7, and a lot of Palestinians have suffered ever since”. “Bringing peace to them is something that we can all throw our weight behind.”