Foreign Minister Minister Penny Wong says the government will not follow Andy Burnham’s trade ban against Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying Australia has already been criticised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for actions it has taken against the Jewish state.
The Albanese government on Wednesday was forced to defend its decision to not join the UK, France and Canada in taking steps to ban the importation of goods produced by Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.
A further nine countries including Denmark, Poland, Portugal and Sweden backed the sanctions regime as Europe toughens its stance against Israel, putting Labor under pressure from its own backbench, crossbench and the Greens to join its international peers.
Mr Burnham and his Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband led the joint announcement on Tuesday, declaring the UK would refuse to be “bystanders” to further suffering and the destruction of the two-state solution.
Senator Wong said the government would consider a new round of sanctions to deter illegal settlements but would not, at this time, pursue its own version of the UK’s “blanket ban”.
Canberra had already faced backlash from Jerusalem for imposing bans on goods from sanctioned Israeli individuals and entities, she told the Senate.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed very publicly his criticism of the Albanese government’s actions in relation to Israel, in relation to Gaza, in relation to the West Bank,” Senator Wong said.
The relationship has also been strained after Israel announced it would not pursue criminal proceedings against the soldiers responsible for the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six of her World Central Kitchen colleagues.
Labor recognised the State of Palestine last September in a co-ordinated announcement with countries including the UK and Canada.
The Greens and independent senators questioned why Australia did not participate in the latest announcement with its international partners, which has prompted Israel to announce it will close the UK’s consulate in East Jerusalem.
Greens senator David Shoebridge called on Senator Wong to disclose whether Australia had been invited to be part of the decision to impose a new sanctions regime, suggesting Labor risked becoming a “global outlier”.
He also attacked Labor’s hesitancy to provide detail about the new targeted measures it was preparing against Israel, suggesting Senator Wong had to reach out to her “counterpart in Washington first to work out who she’s permitted to put sanctions against”.
Independent senator David Pocock called on Labor to show “courage” and follow the UK, Canada and France with tougher sanctions.
While the Coalition broadly supported the decision to not impose a blanket ban against Israeli businesses in the West Bank, opposition foreign affairs spokesman Ted O’Brien said the government had to provide details about its new round of sanctions.
“The Coalition will wait to see what Labor proposes, but given their past performance it’s clear that they’re obsessed with performative gestures about Israel to pander to activists, rather than constructive action to advance a lasting peace through a genuine two-state solution,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Just like Labor’s ineffectual and premature recognition of Palestine, this announcement of ‘targeted measures’ lacks detail and sounds like an attempt to isolate Israel – a fellow democracy and key partner.”
Opposition deputy leader Jane Hume also signalled the Coalition would support the government in its position on the ban, saying: “We don’t think that it needs to go any further than that right now.”
The Australian previously reported Israel’s Australian ambassador, Hillel Newman, cautioned Canberra against going down the same path as the UK.
But Labor is set to face mounting internal pressure to ramp up its position against Israel over illegal settlements.
Labor backbencher Ed Husic said the government would “need to take that type of action,” referring to the blanket ban, after his bid to push the issue was shut down at the party’s recent national conference.
