Australia joins sanctions on Israeli ministers

Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced on Tuesday that Australia has joined Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom in announcing sanctions on Israeli government ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich “for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank”.

The five-nation joint statement said the ministers “have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights” and described extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and creation of new Israeli settlements as “appalling and dangerous”.

Wong emphasised that the measures do not affect Australia’s support for Israel’s security. “The measures announced today do not deviate from our unwavering support for Israel’s security and we continue to condemn the horrific terror attacks of 7 October by Hamas,” she said.

“We continue to want a strong friendship with the people of Israel based on our shared ties, values and commitment to their security and future.”

The joint statement described settler violence as being “incited by extremist rhetoric which calls for Palestinians to be driven from their homes, encourages violence and human rights abuses and fundamentally rejects the two-state solution”.

“Settler violence has led to the deaths of Palestinian civilians and the displacement of whole communities,” the statement said.

The foreign ministers said they remained “steadfastly committed to the two-state solution which is the only way to guarantee security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians and ensure long term stability in the region, but it is imperilled by extremist settler violence and settlement expansion”.

The statement said the had engaged extensively with the Israeli government on the issue, saying violent perpetrators continue to act “with encouragement and impunity”.

“This is why we have taken this action now – to hold those responsible to account. The Israeli Government must uphold its obligations under international law and we call on it to take meaningful action to end extremist, violent and expansionist rhetoric.”

The ministers described Tuesday’s measures as “targeted towards individuals who in our view undermine Israel’s own security and its standing in the world”.

While focusing on the West Bank, the statement acknowledged the situation “cannot be seen in isolation from the catastrophe in Gaza” and expressed continued concern about “the immense suffering of civilians, including the denial of essential aid”.

The statement called for no unlawful transfer of Palestinians from Gaza or within the West Bank, nor any reduction in Gaza’s territory, whilst seeking “an immediate ceasefire, the release now of the remaining hostages and for the unhindered flow of humanitarian aid including food”.

Israeli Ambassador Amir Maimon said the decision to impose the sanctions “is deeply concerning and entirely unacceptable”.

“These ministers are part of a government that operates under the principle of collective responsibility, making such measures unreasonable,” he said. “Serious questions must be asked about the motives behind the timing of this announcement. It comes while Israel is engaged in a war against Hamas, a terrorist organisation committed to wiping Israel off the map and a key part of a broader axis of terror.

“The Israeli government will convene early next week to consider and determine our official response to these actions.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion criticised the sanctions as ineffective political theatre.

“The politics and rhetoric of Ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich, and the settler violence that they encourage, are reprehensible. About 80 per cent of Israelis are of the same view,” Aghion said.

“However, if Australia were to sanction every cabinet minister in every government who has incited hatred and violence we would end up breaking off diplomatic relations with half the world. This measure is an exercise in performative politics that will change absolutely nothing in the region.”

Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) executive director Colin Rubenstein said he move to sanction, rather than criticise Smotrich and Ben Gvir “smacks of blatant double standards”.

“The Government’s unprecedented decision to sanction two democratically-elected but controversial ministers in the allied, democratic government of Israel represents a major escalation of the ongoing regrettable trend by the current ALP government of abandoning our long-standing bipartisan tradition of good relations with the Jewish state,” he said.

“The Government appears to be acting at the behest of the obsessive anti-Israel activists who constantly scream for ever more punitive actions against Israel, and largely do not seek the two-state solution our government says it supports, but instead desire Israel’s ultimate destruction.”

The Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) said in a statement that it had “consistently and publicly over a long period of time condemned the rhetoric and positions espoused by Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir”.

“However, the Australian Government’s unprecedented decision to impose individual sanctions on ministers of a democratically elected government in the midst of a war on multiple fronts will not play a constructive role in advancing peace or ending the war in Gaza,” the ZFA said. “This decision highlights a troubling double standard given that no extremist members of the unelected Palestinian Authority are subject to similar sanctions.”

Australian Jewish Association CEO Robert Gregory said, “This action represents a hostile and unjustified attack on a democratic ally and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

“These sanctions not only devastate Israel–Australia relations but also harm Australia’s vital alliance with the United States. We note that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already condemned the move. At a time of increasing geopolitical instability, such reckless behaviour is diplomatically irresponsible.”