On Monday night, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar declared that the country had annulled the visas of Australia’s delegates stationed in the West Bank of Palestine, citing claims of antisemitism against Australia.

He attributed Australia’s actions to the anticipated recognition of Palestine and the rejection of a visa for Israeli politician Simcha Rothman. Rothman is part of the Religious Zionism party, which endorses the ongoing conflict, encourages what it terms voluntary migration of Palestinians, and advocates for the reestablishment of Jewish communities in Gaza.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong criticized the Israeli government’s response as “unjustified,” accusing Prime Minister Netanyahu’s administration of “isolating Israel and hindering global efforts to promote peace and a two-state resolution.”

Netanyahu’s comments on Tuesday night are not the first from Israel since Albanese revealed plans to join France, the UK, and Canada in acknowledging Palestine at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September, to be held in New York.

But coming from the country’s most powerful politician, it’s a significant escalation in the deterioration of diplomatic ties between two allies.

Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid lashed out at Netanyahu over the comment.

“In today’s democratic world, challenging Netanyahu, who is regarded as the most politically contentious leader in the West, is what truly bolsters a leader,” he expressed on X.

“It is unclear why Bibi is in such a hurry to give the Australian prime minister this gift.”

Albanese was yet to respond on Tuesday night.

Hours earlier Australian Finance Minister Katy Gallagher denied Australia’s relationship with Israel was broken and said Canberra was not trying to isolate Netanyahu’s government.

“No, that is not the basis of the decisions that we’ve taken, we’ve taken decisions about recognition of the Palestinian state, based on, well, a frame view of a two-state solution and a pathway to peace,” she said.

“We want diplomatic and open channels of discussion with the Israeli government. 

“The PM takes it seriously, and that’s why we had those conversations, no matter how difficult they are with the prime minister and the prime minister of Israel.”

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the prime minister deserved respect but described it as a “two-way street” and pushed Albanese to “explain how he is going to repair this relationship which is now in tatters as a result of his failures of leadership”.

“Anthony Albanese has mismanaged international relationships to the point where he now finds himself at the centre of a troubling diplomatic incident,” she said, in a statement.

“This is a direct consequence of bad decisions he and his government have taken that do not advance Australia’s interests.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, said the Palestinian death toll from 22 months of war has passed 62,000.

It does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the dead. The United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties.

Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavily populated areas after ceasefire talks stalled last month, raising the possibility of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which experts say is sliding into famine.

Netanyahu has dismissed reports of starvation in Gaza as “lies” promoted by Hamas.

But the UN last week warned that starvation and malnutrition in the occupied Palestinian territory are at their highest levels since the war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which the militants abducted 251 people and killed about 1200, mostly civilians.

Hamas said Monday it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as Israel indicated its positions haven’t changed.

– Reported with Associated Press