AMELIA: It's always a big deal
when the leader of another country pays a visit to ours,
especially if there's never been
a leader from that country here before.
Last week, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,
became the first sitting Israeli PM to visit Australia.
We admire Australia. We embrace Australia.
But the visit came with a lot of controversy.
ALL: (CHANT) Palestine will be free!
People gathered in cities around Australia to protest,
holding signs mentioning Palestine.
That's because there's been fighting between Palestinian
and Israeli people for many, many years
over land in the Middle East.
This is Israel and here is Gaza and the West Bank.
Those last two areas aren't technically separate countries,
but most of the people who live there call themselves Palestinian,
and they have their own government.
But take a step back in time and this map was very different.
Before 1948, there was no Israel.
All of this area was known as Palestine
and it was under the control of Britain.
The people who lived here were from different ethnic groups,
and while the majority were Muslim,
there were also Christians and Jews and other religions.
Around the time of the Second World War,
Jewish people were treated horribly.
More than 6 million were killed and thousands fled to Palestine.
Some decided to set up their own Jewish country
in the place their ancestors lived
and the place they believed was promised to them by God.
But the area is also sacred to Muslims and Christians,
and the people who were already living there were afraid
they would lose their homes.
So the United Nations came up with an idea to split Palestine
into two separate countries.
One Arab and one Jewish.
The Jewish leaders agreed and created the state of Israel,
but the Arab leaders didn't accept the plan
and a war broke out.
Israel won that war and others that followed.
They then claimed the area of Israel as their own.
After that, many Palestinians left their homes
and became refugees in Gaza and the West Bank,
and fighting has continued in those regions since,
as many people who live there still feel like
they're being forced off their land.
(GUNFIRE AND EXPLOSIONS)
Lately, there's been a lot of arguing about the West Bank in particular.
It's home to 2.6 million Palestinians,
but it's controlled by Israel.
Israel's government has allowed more and more Jewish settlers
to move in and keep a big military presence there.
The Palestinians consider the West Bank their land
and often protest.
They say it's hard to move around
because there are lots of Israeli checkpoints and no-go zones.
(SPEAKS IN SPANISH)
Last year, world leaders at the United Nations Security Council voted
and decided Israel was breaking international law
by allowing its people to settle in the West Bank.
The UN says Israel should stop
and the land should instead be divided into two separate states,
but Israel's current government says it won't support that happening any time soon.
Within the UN,
136 nations currently recognise Palestine as a state.
Now, two former Australian PMs
say they think our country should do the same,
but Mr Netanyahu disagrees.
What kind of state will it be that they're advocating?
A state that calls for Israel's destruction?
Our PM, Malcolm Turnbull,
said he thinks the UN's decision was unfair
and that Israel should protect itself,
but he also said Australia could support a two-state agreement
like the UN suggested.
The key is direct negotiations between the parties,
and I would add such that this could the a good time
to come back to the table,
for the parties to come back to the table and reach an agreement.
But, of course, as with any agreement,
it needs two to tango.
Leaders from Israel and Palestine
haven't met for peace talks since 2014,
and no leaders before them have ever been able
to come to an agreement.
But on both sides,
there are many people who genuinely want peace.
The really difficult question is how to achieve it,
and it seems no-one has a clear answer to that just yet.