Former foreign minister Alexander Downer has described Australia’s decision to send a single Defence Force liaison officer to Israel as part of a US-led Civil-Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) as a gesture of “symbolism rather than substance”.

On Wednesday, Defence confirmed that an Australian officer will join the new coordination centre being established by US Central Command to support stabilisation and reconstruction efforts in the region following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The announcement was made quietly through a Defence Department statement rather than by the Prime Minister or Defence Minister.

Mr Downer told Sky News host Chris Kenny that the move carried little weight in practical terms.

“Well, it’s just symbolic, isn’t it? It’s a position of no substance and

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