By Renju Jose and Alasdair Pal SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday played down Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu's pointed condemnation of his decision to recognise a Palestinian state,

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed accusations from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called the Australian leader a "weak politician" for recognizing a Palestinian state.

Now the row has become personal, with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashing out at Mr Albanese in an unusually pointed public missive. On X, Mr Netanyahu’s office wrote: “History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.”