When Israel’s ambassador to Australia held a press conference in Canberra last month, he heaped praise upon a surprising recipient: his Palestinian counterpart, Izzat Abdulhadi.

Amir Maimon said he had “lots of respect” for Abdulhadi, adding he was “very sad” that his lengthy tenure as the head of the general delegation of Palestine in Australia was about to end.

“He’s a wonderful man,” Maimon told the reporters gathered at the Israeli embassy on the day the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne was firebombed.

Izzat Abdulhadi’s major regret: his tenure ended without Australia recognising Palestinian statehood, despite momentum steadily building for such a move for years within Labor.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“And I’m not just saying it because I’m a diplomat and you expect diplomats to use nice language. He’s a real fine gentleman.”

Asked about the comments, Abdulhadi appears somewhat bemused, saying he and Maimon had previously held civil discussions at functions in Canberra but had not met since the war in Gaza began 15 months ago.

“Usually, it’s very difficult dynamics between the occupier and the occupied,” Abdulhadi says.

“It’s very difficult to try to separate the........

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