Australia says ICJ ruling on Israeli occupation can't be ignored
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Australian sources say the government has not ruled out sanctions on settlers, as several allies have done.
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An elderly Palestinian man is helped by an emergency worker at an Israeli checkpoint in Qalandia, in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
The Australian government is becoming increasingly concerned about "Israel's" "troubling pattern" of actions and has not ruled out a more robust response, including fines against settlers.
On July 19, the ICJ's verdict ruled that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories in 1967, i.e. al-Quds and the West Bank, amounts to "de facto annexation," with "Israel's" settlement activities violating international regulations. In this context, a senior Australian government official said the matter "can't be ignored."
The ICJ determined that "Israel's" continued presence in these areas is illegal and must end immediately. Furthermore, the ICJ declared that all states have a duty not to acknowledge the "legal legitimacy" of the situation created by this unlawful presence.
Despite "Israel's" claim that the verdict was "not legally binding" and "blatantly one-sided," an Australian government source stated that the ICJ's advisory opinion had "significant authority under international law."
The official told The Guardian Australia that the troubling pattern comes following the Knesset's rejection of a "two-state solution" and "ongoing acts of violence against Palestinians by extremist settlers and record expansion of settlements in the West Bank."
“As long as Israel continues to ignore these concerns, the international community will have no choice but to take action.”
Australian sources cited that the government has not ruled out sanctions on settlers, as several allies have done. "Extremist settlers" who wish to visit Australia may also be denied visas, but the consequences would go further.
Other possibilities being considered include Australia becoming more candid in publicly condemning "Israel's" conduct and collaborating with other countries to attempt to jumpstart the peace process.
Significantly, the ICJ determined that "Israel's" policies and practices maintained "a near-complete separation in the West Bank and East al-Quds between the settler and Palestinian communities," which violated the international prohibition on "racial segregation and apartheid."
The Israeli government has long denied charges of apartheid, but the ICJ verdict supports complaints made by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the al-Quds-based NGO B'Tselem.
When asked if it agreed with this judgment, the Australian government hesitated to answer definitively on Tuesday, stating only that it was "carefully considering the detail of the ICJ opinion to fully understand the conclusions reached."
Calling for an immediate ceasefire and release of captives, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia stated that “rhetoric and actions that delay or undermine a meaningful political process are not in the interests of the Israeli or Palestinian people."
Israeli Knesset overwhelmingly votes against Palestinian state
Last week, the Israeli Knesset voted to pass a resolution rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state on Thursday ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's potential visit to Washington.
Parties from Netanyahu's coalition and right-wing parties from the opposition, including Benny Gantz's "State Camp" party, co-sponsored the resolution. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in the Knesset, "The Palestinian State cannot be established because there is no such thing as a Palestinian people."
Knesset members from opposition leader Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party left the hall to avoid voting on the resolution, despite the party taking a strict position in favor of a "two-state solution".
The Israeli Labor Party, Ra'am, and Hadash-Ta'al were the only parties not to back the measure.
Earlier in February, the Knesset passed a resolution rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state, however, the motion specifically addressed a unilateral establishment of such a state without "Israel's" approval.
