Statement - Welcoming the decision by Australia and Aotearoa NZ to sanction Israeli ministers
Official Statement:
Welcoming the decision by Australia and Aotearoa NZ to sanction Israeli ministers
The General Delegation of Palestine welcomes the Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand governments’ decision to impose targeted sanctions on Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, as announced in a joint statement by the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Canada, Norway, and the United Kingdom.
This decision is a significant and necessary step towards advancing justice and accountability, and it is consistent with the evolving positions of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand on the situation in the unlawfully Occupied Palestinian Territory – positions increasingly aligned with international law, international legitimacy, and both countries’ long-held commitments to the two-State solution.
Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are just two members of the extremist far-right Government of Israel, which is led by a Prime Minister who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the context of Israel’s ongoing genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Accordingly, the General Delegation of Palestine calls on Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand to impose government-wide sanctions on Israel, in accordance with international law and the rulings of international justice mechanisms, including the July 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice.
The General Delegation of Palestine further calls on the governments of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand to recognise the State of Palestine immediately, before it is too late. The upcoming High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, to be held in New York from 17-20 June, provides a crucial opportunity in this regard.
It is time to translate commitment into decisive, concrete action and finally deliver the just, lasting, and comprehensive peace that has been denied for far too long.
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