The prime minister has condemned comments made by one of his Labor colleagues after the senator broke rank with the party and called Israel's attack on the Gaza Strip a genocide.
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West Australian senator Fatima Payman on Wednesday issued a strong rebuke of the government's stance, saying: "I must call this out for what it is - this is a genocide and we need to stop pretending otherwise."
She also ended her statement by saying, "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free", a phrase that conservative politicians and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have taken issue with.
The prime minister has previously said the phrase goes against a two-state solution where Israel and Palestine co-exist side-by-side.
Asked if Senator Payman's use of the phrase was appropriate, Mr Albanese said: "No, it's not".
"What is appropriate is a two-state solution, where both Israelis and Palestinians have the right to live in security, in peace and prosperity," he told ABC radio on Thursday.
"It is not in the interests of either Israelis or Palestinians to advocate for there to just be one state that is a fore runner of enormous conflict and grief."
Hamas - designated a terrorist group by the Australian government - launched an attack on Israel on October 7 that killed 1200 people and led another 200 to be taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel has since launched a ground offensive and bombing campaign in Gaza that has killed almost 35,000 people and injured about 77,000 more, according to the local health ministry.
At least 1.7 million people in Gaza have been displaced and the majority are starving, according to the UN, as Israel throttles aid into the region and launches an attack on the territory's last refuge.
Senator Payman's comments were made on the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, translated as 'the catastrophe', which marks the 1948 Palestine War where thousands of Palestinians were killed in massacres by Israeli military forces, and hundreds of thousands more were expelled from their homes in the land that would become Israel.
"We are seeing enormous grief in Gaza, that is having a significant impact on people who have relatives and friends in Gaza - and that is a very traumatic occurrence," Mr Albanese said.
"Just as a lot of trauma is being experienced by Jewish Australians due to the rise in anti-Semitism that we're seeing here, where people who happen to be Jewish are being held responsible for actions of the (Israeli) government."
The prime minister has not spoken directly with Senator Payman since Wednesday, but said the last conversation with her was "very, very pleasant".
But he stands by his government's position.
"The government's policy has been very clear: from our opposition to the terrorist activity of Hamas on October 7, our call for the release of hostages, our call for humanitarian ceasefire is a call for humanitarian aid to be delivered to the people of Gaza, our opposition to any ground offensive," he said.
Australian Associated Press
