Source : the age
Israel has applauded the Albanese government for declining to join a United Kingdom-led push to crack down on imports from settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, a move former Labor foreign minister Bob Carr has branded astonishing and cowardly.
Australians will continue to be able to buy wine, dates and other products cultivated in Israeli settlements, considered illegal under international law, after the Albanese government declined to join the UK, France, Canada and other nations implementing an import ban.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong revealed the government was pursuing new, targeted measures “in coordination with international partners to deter illegal settlements and settler violence” on Tuesday, but would not implement a blanket ban on imports at this time.
Asked about the decision, Israel’s ambassador to Australia Hillel Newman said: “We appreciate it very much”.
“It was a wise decision on behalf of Australia. It was a mistake of Britain to go down that path. There is no logic to it, it is based on false assumptions and it’s a dead end,” he said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded with fury to the UK push, announcing he would close the British consulate in East Jerusalem, among other measures.
While it would be a decision for the highest levels of the Israeli government, Newman said he could only assume similar measures would have applied to Australia had it joined the UK.
By contrast, Carr, who served as foreign minister from 2012 to 2013, said he was “utterly astonished” Australia had not joined the 11 nations who signed up to the joint statement spearheaded by the UK.
“The government has sanctioned violent settlers in the West Bank. Why then are we not addressing the root cause of the crisis that is currently spiking? Namely, the turbocharging of Israeli settlement activity, all illegal under international law and pursued with one objective: to make a Palestinian state impossible,” he said.
Carr, a longtime critic of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the West Bank, said: “We could have perfect diplomatic comfort about taking such a position because our ‘like-mindeds’ have all moved. Instead we look cowardly and intimidated.”
Israel seized the West Bank, home to around 3 million Palestinians, from Jordan in 1967, but it has not formally annexed the territory.
Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The International Court of Justice said in a 2024 advisory opinion that Israel should stop settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and end its “illegal” occupation of those areas and the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.
Newman said it was often difficult to make a distinction between products produced in Israel proper and the West Bank. Banning imports from the Palestinian territories could also have negative consequences for Palestinians, he said.
Hundreds of Palestinian workers lost their jobs when SodaStream relocated a factory from the West Bank to Israel in 2016 after an international boycott campaign.
Wong alluded to this in a Senate speech by saying: “We have concerns about the implementation of a blanket ban and unintended consequences for Australian businesses, for Palestinians and Israelis.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been a passionate opponent of the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel.
Australians are not believed to purchase large quantities of goods produced in the West Bank, with the main imports being wine, fruit and vegetables and cosmetics from the Dead Sea region.
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network has been running a boycott campaign of Israeli medjool dates on the grounds that many of the dates are likely to have originated from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Wines made by the Psagot Winery, located in an Israeli settlement close to the de facto Palestinian capital of Ramallah, can be purchased online in Australia.
The provenance of such wines is commonly listed as Israel, meaning consumers would not easily know they originated in settlements considered illegal by the Australian government.
Wines and liquors made by companies based in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights are also widely sold by mainstream Australian retailers.
Israel has administered the Golan Heights since seizing it from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, but the international community, including Australia, considers it occupied territory.
Australian Federation of Islamic Councils President Rateb Jneid said: “If the Australian Government accepts that the settlements are illegal, then it cannot continue allowing Australian trade, money or institutions to contribute to sustaining them.
“Targeting a handful of individuals while leaving the structures that finance and enable the occupation untouched is not a serious response.”
Former Labor cabinet minister Ed Husic had urged Australia to join the UK’s “seismic” move, saying: “I just don’t think we can be left dragging the chain on something as big as this.”
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the British government “agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank perpetrated by settler terrorists”.
Britain’s new policy states that products made in illegal Israeli settlements will no longer be allowed to be imported into the UK, and that the government will have powers to sanction individuals and companies that support, facilitate or profit from illegal settlement activity.
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Matthew Knott is the foreign affairs and national security correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X, Facebook or email.
