Australia has sanctioned Israeli settlers involved in attacking and killing Palestinians, as an appetite for peace grows.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Seven Israelis have been hit with travel bans and financial sanctions for participating in settler violence in the West Bank.
The individuals have been linked to beatings, sexual assaults and the torture of Palestinians, causing injuries and death, a statement from Foreign Minister Penny Wong's office said.
Australia has also imposed sanctions on religious youth group Hilltop Youth for inciting and perpetrating violence against Palestinian communities.
Senator Wong called on Israel to hold perpetrators of settler violence to account and stop ongoing settlement activity which "only inflames tensions".
"We have imposed these after careful consideration, and we would expect that all Australians would recognise the weight of these sanctions," she told ABC Radio on Thursday.
"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."
An end to settler violence is key to establishing a two-state solution, where the states of Israel and Palestine exist side by side, Senator Wong said.
Asked if the sanctions would be met with pushback from Israel's government, Senator Wong said it was a matter for them.
"My job is to act on behalf of Australia, we have a view about the importance of a two-state solution," she said.
"Israel should recognise the importance of its standing and legitimacy in the international community."
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson has called on the government to act consistently on human rights.
"Settler violence is a crime, it's morally wrong, and it is not conducive to a two-state solution, and Australia does have a role in discouraging acts like that from occurring," he told Sky News.
"If it is the case that the government is ...following our like-minded partners, why hasn't it done so in relation to very serious human rights abuses against the Uyghur ethnic minority in Xinjiang?"
The move follows a US decision to sanction entities and individuals connected to acts of violence against civilians in the West Bank.
The Australian government has continued to advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Israel's months-long bombing campaign and ground offensive on the territory has killed almost 40,000 Palestinians since October 7, according to the local health ministry.
Almost 90 per cent of Gazans, roughly 1.9 million people, have been displaced while 495,000 are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Outbreaks of disease are now threatening those left in the territory after traces of polio were found in sewage samples.
Israel's violence was a response to Hamas's October 7 attack, when the group, which is considered a terror organisation by the Australian government, killed 1200 people and took more than 200 hostages, according to the Israeli government.
"We consider that the situation in Gaza now is catastrophic and we are deeply, deeply worried and distressed by what we are seeing," Senator Wong said.
"We find Hamas repugnant.
"The fact that, in this century, we have polio found in the traces of wastewater is extremely, extremely disturbing."
Prospects for peace are improving after outgoing US President Joe Biden said he was working to end the war in Gaza and return Israeli hostages by the end of his term in January.
Defence Minister Richard Marles has said Australia would back his peace plan.
"We affirm his hope," he told ABC radio.
"The peace plan that President Biden has put forward to bring a permanent ceasefire into place is one that we support and we very much encourage the parties to get behind.
"The images that we are seeing on our TVs every night is utterly heartbreaking and we need to see an end to this."
Australian Associated Press
