- Israel's ambassador to the UK dismisses the idea of a two-state solution;
- Jewish community leaders "deeply troubled" by a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Australia;
- And in Rugby league, Fiji to host its first NRL-sanctioned fixture.
Israel's ambassador to the UK has dismissed the idea of a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians as the war with Hamas war rages on for the second month.
Interim peace deals in the mid-1990s known as the Oslo Accords established the Palestinian Authority as an autonomy government in the West Bank and Gaza to lead the way toward an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The United States and the international community have called for the revival of the two-state solution as the only viable solution for the ongoing conflict.
But Tzipi Hotovely has now told British broadcaster Sky News that the Oslo paradigm failed on the 7th of October.
"HOTOVELY: "Israel knows today and the world should know now, the reason the Oslo Accords failed is because the Palestinians never wanted to have a state next to Israel. They want to have a state from the river to the sea."
PRESENTER: "So the two-state solution is dead?"
HOTOVELY: "Why are you obsessed with a formula that never worked, that created this radical people in the other side? Why are you obsessed with that?”
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Jewish community leaders say they are "deeply troubled" by a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents since the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry says there have been 662 antisemitic incidents reported in October and November alone, compared with a total of 495 in the preceeding 12 months.
Former president Jillian Segal says their understanding is that this level of reporting represents the greatest increase of antisemitism in the world.
"That is very concerning for I think the whole community, because it indicates a fracturing of the community and something that we must do something about. I really call on governments - both state and federal - to show leadership in this regard, and adopt a national anti-semitism campaign around the country."
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National Australia Bank chair Philip Chronican has pledged better engagement with Tiwi Islanders after traditional owners called on the bank to end its financial support for gas company Santos.
Mr Chronican says the bank is in "the difficult position" of not being able to comment on a customer's activities but he was fully aware of the issues related to the pipeline.
Pirrawayingi Puruntatameri and Simon Munkara made the call to the bank after travelling more than 3000 kilometres from their homelands in the Timor Sea to Sydney to address the NAB board at its annual meeting today.
They say the bank is breaching their human rights by participating in a $1.5 billion loan to Santos, and they are asking it not to finance the proposed expansion of the Darwin LNG project that would be used to process gas from the $5.5 billion Barossa gas project.
A protest has also been held outside the annual general meeting, with this Tiwi Islander saying he has a responsibility to protect his family, country, culture and sea country.
"I would like to invite the CEO of NAB to come to the Tiwi Islands and consult with us in a respectful way. It would be an honour to have him there on the island."
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And in Rugby League,
Fiji will host its first NRL-sanctioned fixture when Melbourne meet Newcastle in a 2024 pre-season trial game.
The Storm are organising the fixture, which will be played on February 24 at Churchill Park in Lautoka, the Pacific nation's second-largest city.
NRL players last featured in a competitive match in Fiji in 2019, when the National Stadium in Suva hosted the Prime Minister's XIII match between Australia and the locals.
As the NRL prepares for its 2024 season openers to take place in Las Vegas, Melbourne see the trial match as a chance to develop the game internationally.
Storm chief executive Justin Rodski said they are "very excited" at the prospect and sees it as an opportunity for growth.
