Mr Burke, who is at the centre of the diplomatic stoush, was one of the first senior government officials to front the media on Wednesday.
He said Mr Netanyahu’s definition of “weak” was off.
“Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry,” Mr Burke told the ABC in an overt shot at the enormous civilian death toll in Gaza.
“Strength is much better measured by exactly what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has done, which is when there’s a decision that we know Israel won’t like, he goes straight to Benjamin Netanyahu.
“He has the conversation.”
The “conversation” Mr Burke referred to was a phone call the Prime Minister had with his Israeli counterpart before announcing Australia would recognise Palestinian statehood.
The call did little to soften the blow, with the Israeli government saying the decision rewarded Hamas – the Palestinian Islamist group that runs Gaza.
Hamas carried out the shock October 7 attacks on Israel in 2023 that sparked the war in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has labelled Anthony Albanese ‘weak’. Picture: Abir Sultan / Pool / AFP
Mr Burke said Mr Albanese made it clear “exactly what we’re intending to do, and (gives) the chance for the objections to be made person to person, and then, having heard them, makes a public announcement and does what needs to be done”.
He said Mr Albanese’s Palestine pledge was not “in any way compromising the longstanding view that every hostage needs to be released” or “the view that Hamas is a terrorist organisation which must play no role in a future Palestinian state”.
Mr Burke added that it was a message to the Palestinian people saying “you are not invisible”.
“We see you, we will recognise you, and that we will take the action that Australia has always believed needed to be taken, which is that we have two states – an Israeli state and a Palestinian state, both secure, both recognised, both safe,” Mr Burke said.
Visa clash
Mr Netanyahu’s criticism is the latest in a series of escalating blows to the Australia-Israel relationship triggered by the Albanese government’s opposition to large-scale civilian suffering in Gaza.
While Mr Albanese’s decision to recognise Palestinian statehood ramped up tensions, Mr Burke cancelling the visa of a far-right Israeli MP pushed Mr Netanyahu to strike out.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to recognise Palestinian statehood. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
The Israeli government in turn revoked visas for Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority.
In announcing the move against Australian diplomats, Israel’s foreign minister hinted further action could be taken against Australian officials seeking entry to Israel.
Mr Burke also sparked controversy last year by blocking a visa for ex-Israeli minister Ayelet Shaked.
He did so for comments Ms Shaked made in 2014 calling children of terrorists “little snakes”.
She said the families of terrorists “are all enemy combatants, and their blood shall be on all their heads”.
In his comments on Wednesday, Mr Burke defended his decisions, saying he had an obligation to protect all Australians, and he would not let someone into the country if they had made the same comments about Israeli children.
“One of them has described Palestinian children as the enemy, and the other has described Palestinian children as little snakes,” he said.
“Now, if anyone wanted to come on a public speaking tour and they had those views publicly expressed about Israeli children, I would block the visa, and I am not going to have a lower bar for the protection of views that are bigoted views against the Palestinian people.
“I take the role very seriously in Australia that we have a power under the Migration Act to block people from coming here if we think they will incite discord.”
Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ‘toxic’. Picture: Maya Alleruzzo / Pool / AFP
‘All-time low’
Mr Burke’s opposition counterpart, Andrew Hastie, said the relationship with Israel “is at an all-time low” and put it down to the “foreign policy incompetence from this government”.
Also speaking to the ABC, he said there “a number of things” driving the rift.
“No.1, pushing for a two-state solution, which I think empowers and emboldens Hamas … has been very, very counter-productive to the relationship,” Mr Hastie said.
“I think as well, this latest visa decision, regardless of what you think of the (Israeli) MP who applied to come to this country, has further damaged the relationship.”
On the Israeli MP, Simcha Rothman, Mr Hastie said dealing with people with different views went with the territory.
“He’s a member of the Israeli parliament,” Mr Hastie said.
“Israel is the only democracy really functioning in the Middle East right now.”
He went on to say that “we’ve met with a range of people over the years”, pointing to a meeting he had with the Iranian foreign minister in 2016.
“Did I agree with the Iranian foreign minister at the time? No, I didn’t, but it was an important conversation that we had with that person,” Mr Hastie said.
“And so I think the government’s failed to recognise what this cancellation would mean.
“This wasn’t just any old visa.”
Meanwhile, in Israel, the country’s opposition leader has called Mr Netanyahu “toxic” and said his comments were a “gift” to Mr Albanese.
“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,” Yair Lapid posted on social media.
“It’s unclear why (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) is rushing to give the Australian prime minister this gift.”
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