In an unprecedented personal attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was a “weak” politician who “betrayed Israel” and “abandoned” his country’s Jewish community, amid an escalating diplomatic crisis between the two nations.

In an English-language statement posted on his official account on X, Netanyahu said: “History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid criticized Netanyahu, saying that world leaders are strengthened by public rows with “politically toxic” Israeli leader, and that the premier had given Albanese a “gift” with his attack.

“The thing that most strengthens a leader in today’s democratic world is a confrontation with Netanyahu, the most politically toxic leader in the Western world,” Lapid wrote on X. “It’s unclear why Bibi is rushing to give the Australian prime minister this gift.”

Netanyahu’s attack came after Canberra barred far-right Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman from visiting the country, prompting Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to announce the revocation of the residency visas of Australia’s representatives to the Palestinian Authority.

Australian........

© The Times of Israel