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"Israel must listen to the concerns of the international
community," the leader's statement said.
"The protection of civilians is paramount and a requirement
under international humanitarian law. Palestinian civilians
cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas. It must
end."
The leaders also said Israel needed to hold extremist settlers
accountable for ongoing acts of violence against Palestinians,
reverse its settlement program in the West Bank and work towards
a two-state solution.
Israel's embassy in Australia on Thursday said it condemned acts
of violence against Palestinian communities.
Last week, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said
Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and its
settlements there are illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as
possible, its strongest findings to date on the
Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The leader's statement called on Israel to "respond
substantively" to the ICJ.
Israel's foreign ministry last week rejected the ICJ opinion as
"fundamentally wrong" and one-sided, and repeated its stance
that a political settlement in the region can only be reached by
negotiations.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem -
areas of historic Palestine which the Palestinians want for a
state - in the 1967 Middle East war and has since built
settlements in the West Bank and steadily expanded them.
Israeli leaders argue the territories are not occupied in legal
terms because they are on disputed lands, but the United Nations
and most of the international community regard them as occupied
territory.
The joint statement, the second since February, expressed
concern about escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah
and said the risk of a wider regional war made a ceasefire in
Gaza all the more urgent.
The statement came hours after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris
pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to help
reach a Gaza ceasefire deal that would ease the suffering of
Palestinian civilians, striking a tougher tone than President
Joe Biden.
(Reporting by Lewis Jackson in SydneyEditing by Alasdair Pal and
Sharon Singleton)
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