LONDON
\nAustralia is preparing another suite of sanctions against Israel but will not join the UK, France and Canada in banning trade with Israeli settlements,
\nThe Guardian reported on Wednesday. Australia\u2019s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her country, which had joined its partners on previous rounds of action against Israel, is not committed to a broad ban on goods produced in settlements, which are illegal under international law.
\nShe added: \u201cAustralia is pursuing further targeted measures in coordination with international partners to deter illegal settlements and settler violence. \u201cWe have concerns about the implementation of a blanket ban and unintended consequences for Australian businesses, for Palestinians and for Israelis, and we will continue to work with partners to protect the prospects of a two-state solution.\u201d
\nHowever, Wong said Israel\u2019s actions are \u201cextinguishing the possibility of a two-state solution.\u201d Israel must stop settler violence against Palestinians, including destruction of property, displacement of families, torture, sexual assault and killings, she added.
\n\u201cWe have taken action that Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu\u2019s government has made very clear that they are more than displeased with, but we have done so because this is the right thing to do,\u201d Wong said. Despite mounting pressure, Israel\u2019s government believes it can simply \u201cride out\u201d condemnatory statements from abroad, said Ed Husic, an MP with Australia\u2019s governing Labour Party.
\nHowever, \u201cit cannot ride out the impact of sanctions; this is a big seismic move,\u201d he added. \u201cAustralia is going to need to do the same because we can\u2019t say we\u2019re for the state of Palestine, which I am very much a supporter of, and ignore the fact that illegal settlements are undermining the ability for a state of Palestine to emerge.\u201d
\nRawan Arraf, executive director of the Australian Centre for International Justice, welcomed the UK\u2019s actions but said Wong\u2019s \u201clegacy will be judged on her weak inaction to these concerted steps and to the serious allegations of genocide in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Australia is preparing another suite of sanctions against Israel but will not join the UK, France and Canada in banning trade with Israeli settlements, The Guardian reported on Wednesday. Australia\u2019s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her country, which had joined its partners on previous rounds of action against Israel, is not committed to a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-566490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n