Australia’s foreign policy via its support for Israel’s government is under strain like never before following claims of genocide at The Hague and now findings that Palestinians are subject to apartheid. By Farah Abdurahman.
International law, along with the ‘global rules-based order’, would now appear passe even though Australian politicians and mainstream media all but ignored the dramatic determination on Friday by the International Court of Justice declaring Israel’s occupation illegal and constituting apartheid.
The deafening silence of Australia’s leadership in the midst of a ruling that may see Australia complicit in war crimes could have lasting implications for our government, which is now actively supporting and providing arms for what the World Court has decided amounts to an apartheid regime.
Although last Friday’s ICJ findings about Israel are “non-binding”, the UN’s highest court sets the rights and obligations of states under international law, and these can have practical ramifications for non-compliance.
The Apartheid Israel story does not seem to have appeared – after 8 hours – on the news sites of ABC, Murdoch press or Nine SMH, Age.
What’s going on @ABCmediawatch – conspiracy or coincidence?#auspol https://t.co/SBnjn9NJFi
— 💧Michael West (@MichaelWestBiz) July 20, 2024
Western hypocrisy: Ukraine v Gaza
The hypocrisy of Western nations with respect to the offensive in Ukraine as opposed to the assault on Gaza was amplified by a social media statement put out by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, who last Friday said, “We are carefully considering the detail of the ICJ opinion to fully understand the conclusions reached”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued a statement saying Australia respected the ICJ’s “role in upholding international law and the rules-based order”.
“We want to see concrete steps taken by Israel to cease the expansion of settlements to respond to extremist activity.”
The Labor government maintains it has called for a ceasefire in Gaza since late 2023 but has failed to take any meaningful steps to support a ceasefire and continues to provide military support to Israel.
Orwell revisited. The Government playing word games with weapons to Israel
Still, the bombs rain down
While leaders debated the ICJ ruling, another school in Gaza that was housing displaced women and children was bombed over the weekend. It was the ninth school bombed in two weeks.
The ICJ found Israel had committed numerous violations of international law during its 57 years of occupation.
Among the obligations violated by Israel is the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the prohibition of the use of force to acquire land.
ICJ President Nawaf Salam said the court was calling on all UN States to adhere to their obligations under International Law to enforce the ruling.
“With regard to the right to self-determination, the Court considers that, while it is for the General Assembly and the Security Council to pronounce on the modalities required to ensure an end to Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the full realisation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, all States must co-operate with the United Nations to put those modalities into effect,” said Salam.
“As recalled in the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations — “Every State has the duty to promote, through joint and separate action, realization of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter, and to render assistance to the United Nations in carrying out the responsibilities entrusted to it by the Charter regarding the implementation of the principle.”
End the illegal settlements
The ICJ ruled 11-4 that Israel is under obligation to immediately end the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories per the 1967 borders and considered all presence of Israel in occupied Palestinian territories illegal.
In a 14-1 ruling, the court directed Israel to immediately cease all settlement activity, evacuate settlers from occupied Palestinian territories, and pay reparations to Palestinians who experienced damage by the Israeli occupation.
And in a 12-3 ruling, the court voted that UN states should:
- Not render aid or assistance to Israel to continue the illegal occupation.
- Must distinguish between Israel and occupied land.
- Not accept annexations or boundary changes to Palestinian territory and;
- The General Assembly should consider the mechanism and process in which to bring about the end of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.
The ICJ ruling was provided in response to a request from the UN General Assembly back in 2022, which precedes the current Gaza conflict but provides a compelling report stripping impunity to Israel and its allies.
Netanyahu to address Congress
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently in the US to make his fourth address to Congress to cement ongoing support for his war on Gaza, quickly rejected the ICJ ruling, declaring it “non-binding.”
Military activity in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank has escalated despite the ICJ ruling with violent incursions by armed Israeli settlers targeting essential infrastructure in the West Bank with reports of water pipes being cut to Palestinian villages and civilians assaulted in their homes.
In Gaza, the remaining civil infrastructure supporting the 2.3 million displaced people surviving along the uninhabitable strip continues to experience heavy bombardment.
There are no hospitals that remain operational to tend to the wounded, and children are undergoing major surgery and limb amputations without anaesthetic or post-operative care.
Man-made famine continues to impact all Gazans, with the UN reporting at least 34 children have already died of hunger, many siblings from the same families. The current death toll of identified victims is around 38,900, and almost 90,000 are seriously wounded.
Elbit: how Australia helped finance the IDF killing of Zomi Frankcom and the slaughter in Gaza
Read the ICJ ruling here.
Farah is a former political reporter for Fairfax Media. She has almost 20 years of media and communications experience in senior and executive roles working across government, research and innovation, and the private sector.