Australia has imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on seven Jewish settlers and a youth group for violent crimes against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
In a statement on Thursday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the sanctions as “Magnitsky-style” and said those sanctioned “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,” Wong said, adding that the unnamed youth group was “responsible for inciting and perpetrating violence against Palestinian communities.”
‘Violent Extremism’ – New US Sanctions on Jewish ‘Extremists’, Illegal West Bank Outposts
“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,” the Foreign Minister said.
She said 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.”
US, Canada Sanctions
On June 11, the US government announced a new round of sanctions on three Israeli individuals and five entities connected to acts of violence against civilians in the West Bank.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the sanctions included the far-right Lehava, “an organization led by U.S.-designated Ben Zion Gopstein that has been involved in acts of violent extremism.”
‘Long-Standing Source of Tension’ – Canada Imposes New Sanctions on Israeli Settlers
Last month, Canada announced a new set of sanctions targeting settlers for “extremist violence” against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.
The move followed the country’s first-ever sanctions against settlers, implemented a month before in coordination with Britain, France, the European Union, and the United States.
‘Unlawful’ Policy
Israel has occupied the West Bank, which is home to three million Palestinians, since 1967.
Estimates indicate that around 700,000 settlers live in roughly 300 illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
PRESS RELEASE: the #ICJ delivered its Advisory Opinion in respect of the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem https://t.co/CVnr5gqKDR pic.twitter.com/8Q9EVWHVX7
— CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) July 19, 2024
Last Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and should be brought to an end “as rapidly as possible.”
The Court also ruled by 14 votes to one, that Israel is under an obligation “to immediately cease all new settlement activities and to evacuate all settlers” from the occupied land.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
I’m wondering why they skate around the word “terrorism”? Perhaps it’s because they’ve been so long in bed with the Israeli definition of “Terrorism” as “anything to do with Islam”, and the Israeli definition of “Terrorist” as “anything done by an Arab or a Muslim that we don’t like”. FWLIW, Israel acted on those premises during the Lavon Affair, but still refuses to take any responsibility for the suffering of the Egyptian Jewish community who took the punishment for Israel’s betrayal of them.