 Good evening everyone. Okay, done. Are we all right? I don't want to have to redo it. It's fine. It's fine. Look, thank you very much for coming to this press conference. I said at the outset when I was preparing to leave Australia that I would be seeking to add Australia's voice to the effort to find a pathway to peace. And that is what we have done. That is what I have done. And I want to at the outset make a few observations about that. The first is that it is really clear speaking to people to civilians to Israelis families of the hostages to Palestinians it is really clear just how heavily this conflict weighs on the peoples of this region. As I said at Yad Vashem one of the things that is a take out for me is the importance of us all remembering our common humanity. This is a region this is a conflict which is complex and difficult but actually ultimately Israelis and Palestinians want very similar things. They all want peace, security and dignity and the ability to live their lives in peace, in security and dignity. The cause of peace is challenging but it is one that we must strive for and Australia does have an interest in just an enduring peace and we all have an obligation to deal with that challenge in its entirety rather than simple boundaries. As you know I have engaged with officials in Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territories. I have had the opportunity and the privilege of speaking with the families of hostages still held. I have had the privilege of visiting Yad Vashem. I have engaged with the chair of the Foreign and Defence Committee in the Knesset. I have engaged today with representatives of communities affected by settler violence as well as here in Israel the Foreign Minister of Israel and the President of Israel the National Security Advisor and in the occupied Palestinian territories the Foreign Minister and Prime Minister and I will be meeting with the Commissioner Avonla tomorrow. Many great many issues have been discussed. They include obviously the October 7 attacks and I have repeated Australia's condemnation of those attacks. I have called for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages. We have spoken about a pathway to peace. We have spoken about the importance of a humanitarian ceasefire which obviously cannot be one-sided and that we want to see steps towards a sustainable ceasefire. I have spoken about Australia's concerns. Australia is a friend of Israel's. We are also a friend of the Palestinian people. We are Australians are increasingly concerned about the civilian toll and are increasingly concerned about the urgent need for humanitarian access. I have spoken about the risk of regional escalation and we have spoken about settler violence. These and many other issues have informed my discussions. I appreciate the courtesy which has been shown to me by the people and government of Israel and by the Palestinian communities and the Palestinian Authority and I am happy to take your questions. At the beginning of the meeting with the prime ministers how does the occupation and the issues that have got back in Israel? We have a very clear view about settlement. We have said as a government we believe settlements are contrary to international law. We have also consistently said that they are an impediment to peace. If there is one thing I would emphasise it is clear from the conflict that the path to peace demands a just and enduring two state solution. It demands the recognition of Palestinian Palestinian's aspirations for state court and it demands security for Israelis and we don't believe as the Australian Government we have made that clear that settlements are consistent with that pathway to a two state solution. Minister you called on us to lay down their arms but just hours before you arrived they were firing a barrage of rockets into Israel. Is it your view calling for a ceasefire that peace can be achieved through diplomatic negotiations with a terror organisation? I believe that we believe that Hamas has no place in the future Governance of Gaza. We believe that Hamas is a terrorist organisation which has engaged in atrocities and terrorist acts. That is clear. Can I just ask a follow on question to that then perhaps you've said also that Israelis and Palestinians want the same thing and that is peace. I think the peace security and dignity I think that was what I said because I think it is important to recognise for Israelis and you've been here October 7 was a deeply horrific and traumatising event and peace and security go hand in hand. From the Israeli perspective as rockets are still being fired across the border how do you get that message through to Hamas to lay down their arms? Is that through diplomatic discussions? Well look ultimately there needs to be what we have been pressing for is humanitarian access. We have been urging the protection of civilian lives and we've been urging as have many others including the United States a political horizon that is a pathway towards a political process in which the aspiration for state which can be resolved. That Hamas has no place in that Palestinian people have a place in that. That is what we need to focus on. From your discussions today you mentioned that the Palestinian Authority would be the authority to go into Gaza on the day after. That's ultimately a matter for the Palestinian people and the parties to this. Obviously that's a discussion that is occurring including internationally and including with the United States but what we do know is that Hamas can given who they are and what they believe and they are an organisation dedicated to the destruction of the state of Israel and to the destruction of the Jewish people is a place in a process for peace. In Jordan you said that you had grave concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. What discussions do you have with Israeli power workers about how deep your concerns run and what did they say to you about how they are going to address that because there are kids that literally are dying right now. I didn't just express my concerns what I have consistently said is what I consistently sort of do is express the concerns that Australians have that Australians are concerned with the loss of civilian life which is mounting. Australians are concerned with the humanitarian situation in Gaza which is dire and that we want to see civilians protected and we want to see humanitarian access and we encourage the increase in humanitarian assistance going in and as you know we've also provided additional assistance to UNRWA as a result. Yanni did you have anything you wanted to ask? Yes, you've spoken previously with Raj White and you say Gaza could you call for a ceasefire in Gaza meaning you have no longer supported the Israel's war against the mass and if so would you ever Israel's war against the mass? Oh really, that's I don't agree with the premise of many of those I don't agree with how you frame that question I think we have been consistent in Israel having a right to self-defense what we have also said is how it conducts itself in the pressing of that right and the exercise of that right matters and that has been my position from day one that Israel does have a right to defend itself it has a right to security how it exercises that matters that is why we have international humanitarian law that is why we have international obligations and norms around the protection of civilians around proportionality, around distinction and we have we have been very clear about that so I said at the outset this is not about simple boundaries and your question seems to suggest that if we advocate for the application of international law that somehow we are not supportive of Israel's right to defend itself, I disagree are you saying that Israel is breaking international I am simply saying we are a democracy this is about who we are and I spoke about this with our Israeli friends we are a democracy so too is Israel and we hold ourselves to higher standards because of who we are Hi my name is Itai Flesher I am a Jewish Australian from the 61J media so I am here at this time I know today you visited Yad Vashem and for many Israelis October 7th brought back many memories of the Holocaust and I know you also visited Ramallah today and for many Palestinians the experience of what's happened in Gaza has brought back memories of the Nakba, the displacement and loss of life and I also know this war has torn apart many Jewish and Muslim communities that maybe once had relations before the war that have really broken down and you've seen that first hand today from the places you visited I wanted to ask what can Australia do to promote social cohesion maybe here but even more so in Australia between different communities that have been so heartbroken by this war Well can I talk about here first I don't I should come to this with some humility because I am an Australian politician and I can't I'd have an answer for the Middle East I can advocate our views but I did meet today with an organisation called Ecopiece Ecopiece Yes and I asked them as you know they work in Jordan in the Occupy Palestinian Territories and also in Israel and they have Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian staff and they have been very successful in the work that they do particularly in relation to water water security and I asked them how is it you have been able to keep bridging the distance between those communities and it was ultimately I think I don't want to speak for them and I'm sure they could speak to you but it was ultimately about shared shared objectives and there is history and pain and anger in so many parts of the Middle East my message is it actually ultimately Palestinians and Israelis want peace, security and dignity and what this shows us is we do have to deal with the state as part of that you asked about Australia I think what I would say is one of the great wisdoms of Australia is that and why our multiculturalism has been successful is we have understood that we might have differences in opinion but we deal with them respectfully and inclusively and I hope that we can hold on to that I know that this is a conflict that is so distressing for so many Australians but we must hold on to that we treat each other with respect thank you no anything else sure well I think the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister have spoken about this and obviously Australia is in the process of providing additional personnel you're right Iran has long played a destabilising role in this region and when you come here I think that is a much more important thing and I think that I think that when you come here I think that is a much more it's a greater part of the conversation because of the experience of this region then in Australia but it has long played a destabilising role obviously decisions as to the allocation of assets are made on the basis of advice and the priorities that Australia has in terms of our region but this we are very clear in our support for the actions of our friends and allies and we will continue to do so thank you very much I will hang it this is a different topic for cabaret if possible sorry the funding announcement yesterday the Australian government pledged several million dollars to the UN agency yep well look well two things I would say is one is we want services to be provided we want health services to be provided to be educated and UNY is the only entity which is able to do that for Palestinians and that is why we support them you are right that we should ensure that our funds are used appropriately we make that a priority and in terms of the engagement of others this is an issue I raised with the Palestinian Authority express my continued expectation about those funds being used appropriately and I'm sorry I expressed to them that it was extremely important given the focus on this that any funds Australia provides are used appropriately for the provision the services that we are seeking to fund and we wanted to make sure that there was appropriate transparency around that and work with them to ensure that that is the case last question the Chinese ambassador has blamed Japan for the sonar blast that injured Australian Navy divers is he in your opinion trying to stoke divisions between us the Chinese ambassador advocates for his country that's his job what I would say about that incident is we stand by the assessments of the ADF and the representations we made