Labor Party’s 2026 draft Palestine policy debated at national conference amid Israeli criticism
Consensus Summary
The Labor Party’s 2026 draft platform on Israel and Palestine is facing criticism from Israel’s embassy ahead of this week’s national conference in Adelaide. The draft expands significantly from the 2023 iteration, which contained just three lines on recognizing a Palestinian state, a policy the Albanese government adopted in September last year. The new platform includes opposition to settler violence, illegal settlements, and support for international courts, while also condemning Hamas. Israel’s embassy argues the draft unfairly places responsibility for the conflict on Israel and gives insufficient attention to Palestinian leadership and Hamas. The Albanese government has condemned settler violence and imposed sanctions on perpetrators last month, but Israel’s embassy dismisses settler violence as a marginal phenomenon. The conference will see Labor’s pro-Palestine and pro-Israel factions debate the platform’s language, with the final draft platform differing from earlier versions by removing a line requiring Hamas to disarm.
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Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Israel’s embassy issued a four-page statement criticizing Labor’s 2026 draft platform on Israel and Palestine ahead of this week’s Labor national conference in Adelaide
- The 2023 Labor platform on Israel and Palestine contained just three lines, all relating to recognition of a Palestinian state, which the Albanese government formally adopted in September last year
- The 2026 draft platform will be debated at this week’s Labor national conference in Adelaide, marking a shift from the 2023 iteration
- The 2023 document on Israel and Palestine was adopted last August by the Albanese government
- The 2026 draft platform includes opposition to Israeli settler violence and illegal settlement activity, unlike the 2023 document
- The Albanese government has condemned settler violence in the West Bank, joining other western nations last month to impose new sanctions on perpetrators
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- The 2026 draft platform includes motions to express Labor’s opposition to the annexation of Palestinian territory and to call for an end to settler violence and the occupation
- The first draft of the 2026 platform included the line ‘Hamas must disarm and can have no role in the State of Palestine,’ which was dropped from the final draft
- The final draft platform singles out Hamas as a perpetrator of terrorism and violent extremism
- The 2023 document contained just three lines on Israel and Palestine, all relating to recognition of a Palestinian state
- The Albanese government joined other western nations last month to impose new sanctions on settler violence perpetrators
- The draft platform includes opposition to Israeli ‘illegal settlement activity’ and condemnation of recent Israeli laws approving the death penalty for Palestinians who murder Israelis
- The draft platform includes support for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu
- The draft platform includes a line ‘unreservedly condemning terrorism and violent extremism, including as perpetrated by Hamas’
- The Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network (APAN) called for stronger commitments around Australia’s defence exports to Israel and further action on illegal settlements
- The federal government has repeatedly insisted it is not manufacturing any ammunition or weapons and exporting it to Israel, and has not done so for more than five years
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- The Guardian states the 2023 document contained just three lines on Israel and Palestine, while the ABC does not specify the exact number of lines but notes the 2023 platform primarily called for recognition of a Palestinian state
- The Guardian mentions the 2023 document was adopted last August, while the ABC refers to the Albanese government’s recognition of a Palestinian state in September last year, without specifying the exact month of the 2023 document’s adoption
Source Articles
Israel criticises Labor’s draft Palestine policy in rare foreign intervention ahead of party conference
Statement by Israeli embassy in Canberra challenges proposed positions on settler violence and annexation of Palestinian territory Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Israel has made an intervention into the Labor party’s internal processes, publicly criticising a draft policy platform that it claims risks blaming Israel for the Gaza conflict while giving “insufficient attention” to the role of Hamas. The Israeli embassy in Canberra issued a four-page statement on Monday
Israel argues draft Labor platform gives 'insufficient attention' to Hamas
Israel's embassy has released a lengthy complaint ahead of Labor's national conference on the party's proposed position on Israel and Palestine.