ISTANBUL
An Australian lawmaker has sought action against any funneling of funds towards illegal Israeli settler activity in the West Bank.
The demand by Julian Hill, a member of the ruling Labor Party, comes as Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong begins her Middle East tour on Monday.
“Concerning suggestions of tax-deductible vehicles Australians can use to funnel money to illegal Israeli settler activity in the West Bank. This needs investigating, and if proven their Deductible Gift Recipient status (be) removed,” Hill said on X.
“And why should it even be legal for Australians to fund settlement activity in breach of international law,” the Bruce electorate lawmaker asked.
The government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has faced severe intra-party and domestic pressure since Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Palestinian enclave, laying much of the narrow coastal enclave to waste in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7. The war has left 23,968 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis dead.
Australian top diplomat Wong will begin her Middle East tour from Jordan and then proceed to Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and later to the United Arab Emirates.
The trip is aimed to “support international diplomatic efforts towards a durable peace in the Middle East,” the Australian Foreign Ministry said.
In an interview with Sydney Morning Herald, lawmaker Hill cited an Australian Parliamentary Library analysis which shows “crowdfunding sites were soliciting international donations, including from Australia, for causes such as West Bank settlements.”
Hill said: “This needs investigating, and if proven these organizations must be shut down and their deductible gift recipient status removed.”
Another Labor lawmaker Maria Vamvakinou, the co-chair of the parliamentary Friends of Palestine group, backed Hill’s statement, saying: “The settlers are a major problem and an obstacle to a negotiated settlement.”
“I will meet with representatives of communities affected by settler violence and reaffirm our view that settlements are illegal under international law,” Wong said, emphasizing Australia’s opposition to the forcible displacement of Palestinians.
Calling on the Labor government to “hold Israel to account,” Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi said: “A tour of the occupied territories won’t help Palestinians.
“Rather than providing political cover for Israel’s atrocities, the Minister must demand a permanent ceasefire and an end to Israel’s occupation and apartheid,” Faruqi said on X.
Earlier in 2021, several advocacy groups had urged Canberra to “provide clear advice and direction” to businesses, universities, pension funds, registered charities, and financial institutions “to ensure they are not engaging in commercial or non-commercial activities related to Israel’s breaches of international law and egregious abuses of human rights which directly contribute to the commission of international crimes, including the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution.”
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