Josh Butler
The Guardian / July 25, 2024
Penny Wong says Jewish settler violence in West Bank includes ‘beatings, sexual assault and torture’ as she announces Magnitsky-style sanctions.
Australia has imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on seven Israelis and a youth group who Canberra says have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, says Israel has received a lot of support globally, urging its government to “recognize the importance of its standing and legitimacy in the international community”. She says settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law and a “significant obstacle to peace in the Middle East”.
Wong’s office on Thursday morning announced the imposition of Magnitsky-style sanctions against the individuals and youth group over their “involvement in settler violence against Palestinians”.
“The individuals sanctioned today 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 in the statement.
“The entity sanctioned is a youth group that is responsible for inciting and perpetrating violence against Palestinian communities.
“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.”
When asked for a response to the sanctions, a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Canberra said: “Israel condemns acts of violence against Palestinian communities. Israel is a state of law and will work to bring the extreme minority involved to justice.”
The UN’s international court of justice last week ordered Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories “as rapidly as possible” and make full reparations for its “internationally wrongful acts” in a sweeping and damning advisory opinion that says the occupation violates international law.
Guardian Australia reported the Australian government was increasingly alarmed at Israel’s “troubling pattern” of behaviour and last week did not rule out levelling sanctions against settlers.
The sanctions, levelled under Australia’s Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011, allow the foreign affairs minister to designate a person or entity for financial sanctions and travel bans if the minister is satisfied that the person or group has been engaged or complicit in serious violations of a person’s right to life, right not to be subjected to torture or degrading treatment, and right to be free from slavery.
Some of the individuals sanctioned on Thursday have previously been hit with similar sanctions by the EU, US and Canada.
The group sanctioned is known as Hilltop Youth, described as a religious youth group dedicated to establishing settler outposts throughout the West Bank. The EU described the group in its sanctions as “a radical group consisting of members known for violent acts against Palestinians and their villages in the West Bank”.
In her statement, Wong said Australia would “continue to work for a just and enduring peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
In an interview with ABC Radio National on Thursday, Wong said Australian diplomats had spoken to Israeli counterparts about the sanctions.
“These sanctions have been taken after careful consideration and are in line with actions taken by others in recent months,” she said.
Asked if Australia expected “pushback” from Israel over the move, Wong said that would be a matter for Israel.
“[The Jewish] Settlements are unlawful under international law,” she said. “We’re continuing to look to how we protect a pathway to a two-state solution. Part of that is to ensure we also impose penalties on those who perpetrate violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
“This is a state that has had a lot of support in the international community. Israel should recognize the importance of its standing and legitimacy in the international community.”
Wong said Australia was not considering recalling its ambassador, but would continue to engage with Israel, including advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza. She called the situation in Gaza “catastrophic” and said Australia was “deeply worried” about the humanitarian situation – including the discovery of poliovirus in wastewater.
“The fact that, in this century, we have traces of polio found in wastewater is extremely disturbing,” Wong said.
Josh Butler is a political reporter based in Canberra
