Government announces $25 million in Palestinian aid, as Labor conference debate looms

A $25 million aid packaged in assistance for recovery in Gaza has been announced by the Federal Government to also “strengthen the institutional foundations of the State of Palestine”.

The Middle East debate is expected to be one of the few points of serious contention at the conference. It will come up in the conference’s last session, on Saturday.

On Monday, in an unusual move, the Israeli embassy issued a lengthy statement criticising the Israel-Gaza section of the draft platform for the conference as too one-sided.

The embassy said elements of the draft “risk placing responsibility for the conflict on one party while giving insufficient attention to the decisions, conduct and continuing obligations of the Palestinian leadership and terrorist organisations such as Hamas”.

Announcing the funding, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and the Minister for........

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