By Matthew Knott
Foreign Minister Penny Wong is preparing to visit Israel and other Middle Eastern countries in January in a bid to play a constructive role in efforts to secure peace in the region.
Wong’s trip will be the first visit to the region by a federal cabinet minister since the October 7 massacre and the start of the devastating war in Gaza, and will follow trips next week by Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts and a cross-party delegation of MPs.
“Arrangements are being made for the foreign minister to visit the Middle East early in the new year,” said a spokeswoman for Wong.
“Australia has been working with countries that have influence in the region to help protect and support civilians, to help prevent the conflict from spreading and to reinforce the need for the just and enduring peace that all of us want.”
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham, who will travel to Israel next week, has been urging the government to send a senior minister to Israel to show solidarity with the nation after 1200 people died in the shock Hamas attacks of October 7.
At least 17,177 people have died in Gaza during the ensuing war, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
A source in the Jewish-Australian community with close ties to Israel said Wong would receive the “red carpet treatment” in Israel and would be provided access to senior ministers in the Israeli unity government.
Wong has strived to strike a nuanced tone since the outbreak of the war, defending Israel’s right to protect its citizens from attack while urging restraint and later calling on Israel to take steps towards a ceasefire.
Wong has also stressed that any long-term ceasefire could not be “one-sided”, meaning Hamas has a role to play in ending the war as well as Israel.
Watts will next week visit Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, Qatar and Egypt. Wong’s trip is expected to feature a similar span of countries and a visit to the de facto Palestinian capital of Ramallah in the West Bank.
Israel claims it found major weapons depot in Gaza as offensive continues.
She is expected to travel in mid-to-late January, but the itinerary is still being finalised.
Colin Rubenstein, the executive director of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, said the group was “very pleased” that Wong was visiting Israel and the wider Middle East.
“We trust that the foreign minister will maintain the government’s strong and sensible stance that, as she and colleagues have stipulated, the dismantling of Hamas will be required as part of any enduring peace,” he said.
Nasser Mashni, the president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, said: “We’re encouraged by the foreign minister’s plan to visit the Middle East, but this mustn’t just be a visit to offer Australian support to Israel.
“She must give equal time, equal attention to visiting Gaza, where Israel’s genocidal mission continues for its 62nd day, and the West Bank, where Israel is embarking upon an unrelenting expansion of illegal settlements.”
None of the politicians flying into Israel have yet been able to visit the Gaza Strip, although in late October the Human Rights Committee of the Turkish parliament announced preparations to send a delegation to the war zone.
On November 26, Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli prime minister to travel to Gaza in two decades when he visited IDF troops.
Mashni said he hoped the visit would be preceded by Australian government calls “for an immediate ceasefire and support for justice, equality and self-determination for Palestinians in their homeland”.
He added that he was appalled “a pro-Israel lobby” in the form of AIJAC was helping to organise and fund next week’s parliamentary delegation to Israel including Birmingham and Labor MPs Josh Burns and Michelle Ananda-Rajah.
Alex Ryvchin, co-executive director of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said Wong’s trip to Israel would mean a “great deal” to the Jewish community.
“No doubt the Foreign Minister will take the opportunity to meet with families of the hostages and survivors, visit the scenes of the massacre and convey our nation’s unwavering support for the Jewish state in its darkest hour,” he said.