Last month, Israel opened tenders for ‘E1’, a shocking further expansion of its illegal ‘settlements’ on Palestinian land. E1 has been proposed since 1991 – but construction has always stalled under international pressure: the project is particularly egregious because it would sever the West Bank in two, isolating Palestinian communities on either side.
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said that E1 “buries the idea of a Palestinian state“.
The outlook for Gazans also remains extremely worrying. Just last week, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz told a conference that removing Palestinians from Gaza is “the only solution”, and that Israel could do it “by sea, by air and by every way possible”.
In response to E1, the United Kingdom, France and Canada have just announced new sanctions on Israel, including an import ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Nine more European countries have said they are considering similar measures.
This is a significant step, but one Australia is still yet to take. Australia has a legal duty under international law to prevent genocide and not support illegal settlements or be involved in war crimes, or crimes against humanity.
Right now, our laws don’t do enough to stop Australia being complicit in crimes like these. But that could change.
This week, the Red Lines Package will be introduced to Parliament – four critical new bills that would address the gaps in our laws, by:
- Preventing Australia from enabling genocide or war crimes through defence exports;
- Ensuring institutions do not contribute to or benefit from genocide through greater transparency;
- Preventing public funds from supporting illegal settlement activity and genocide risk; and
- Prohibiting the import and trade of goods and services from occupied territories (like the West Bank).
The Red Lines Package would ensure that Australia doesn’t fund, arm, or invest in illegal settlements, war crimes, or genocide – not just in Palestine, but anywhere in the world.
This is a critical time to call on our parliamentarians to champion the Red Lines Package. Let’s do all we can to demand our elected representatives support it – send an email to MPs today.