Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, has been among the most vocal international critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks on Israel. Again and again she has called for restraint, de-escalation, and respect for international law. Specifically, Wong has called on Israel to observe a negotiated ceasefire in the Middle East. Criticism of any nation’s conduct in war is legitimate. Democracies should welcome scrutiny.

But criticism loses credibility when it becomes selective.

The timing of Wong’s interventions has raised uncomfortable questions. She has repeatedly spoken out to condemn Israel and to call for Israeli restraint. Yet when violence has struck closer to home, including the Bondi Beach terrorist attack in December that shocked Australians and highlighted the global reach of extremism, her voice on the broader ideological drivers of such violence seemed far harder to find.

Now she has re-emerged to again criticise Israel, urging de-escalation while the situation on Israel’s northern border continues to deteriorate. Missiles from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon continue to be fired toward Israeli territory. Tens of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border have been displaced as communities empty out under the constant threat of escalation.

Calling for “de-escalation” sounds measured and diplomatic. But the call rings hollow when it appears directed primarily at one side.

Israel’s northern crisis did not emerge in a vacuum. Nearly two decades ago, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 established a clear expectation: southern Lebanon was to be demilitarised south of the Litani River, creating a buffer zone between Hezbollah forces and Israel’s border. That responsibility was meant........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)