Government sanctions Israelis over West Bank violence
'It's imperative these types of sanctions are consistently applied by the Australian Government in a timely manner that doesn’t risk sending a partisan message'
Extremist settlers “are not the impediment to a peaceful two-state solution”, declared Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) president Jeremy Leibler on Thursday after the federal government announced sanctions on seven Israelis for involvement in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
The government announced earlier on Thursday that is has imposed Magnitsky-style targeted financial sanctions and travel bans the Israeli individuals, and targeted financial sanctions on one entity.
“The individuals sanctioned today have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians. This includes beatings, sexual assault and torture of Palestinians resulting in serious injury and in some cases, death,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a media release.
“The entity sanctioned is a youth group that is responsible for inciting and perpetrating violence against Palestinian communities.
“We call on Israel to hold perpetrators of settler violence to account and to cease its ongoing settlement activity, which only inflames tensions and further undermines stability and prospects for a two-state solution.”
Wong added, “The Albanese Government has been firm and consistent that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law and a significant obstacle to peace.”
Leibler said, “There is no excuse for violence that targets civilians, and we have and continue to consistently condemn any Israeli who supports or conducts such violence.
But he said, “Palestinian violence and extremism continue to be the major impediment to peace. At a time when the Palestinian Authority has declared unity with the terrorist organisation, Hamas, and a majority of Palestinians support Hamas, these seven Israeli extremists are not the impediment to a peaceful two-state solution.
“It’s imperative these types of sanctions are consistently applied by the Australian Government in a timely manner that doesn’t risk sending a partisan message.”
He added, “We have confidence in the Israeli justice system and expect these individuals to be prosecuted by Israeli authorities. The overwhelming majority of Israelis abhor these extremists, are law-abiding, and yearn for peace with their neighbours.”
Calling out a double standard, Australian Jewish Association (AJA) CEO Robert Gregory said, “Labor has had nothing to say as many Jewish people have been murdered and severely injured by Arabs in Judea/Samaria (West Bank) recently.
“Labor has not imposed sanctions on the thousands of individuals who took part in the October 7 massacre.”
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