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Politics live: Australia to impose ‘targeted measures’ against Israeli settler violence but no ‘blanket-style import ban’
Developing
In Short: Australia has announced it will pursue targeted measures to deter illegal settlements and settler violence in coordination with international partners, avoiding a blanket import ban on goods from Israeli settlements, according to a statement by Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong.
Australia has announced it will pursue targeted measures to deter illegal settlements and settler violence in coordination with international partners, avoiding a blanket import ban on goods from Israeli settlements, according to a statement by Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong. This move contrasts with the UK's recent decision to impose a trade ban on settlement goods.
The UK has already announced an import ban on settlement goods and plans to take action against companies and individuals who provide services for settlement expansion, as part of a 'comprehensive reset' of policy towards Israel. The UK's move is part of a broader trend among European countries imposing sanctions on Israeli settlements.
Israeli date farmer Avigdor Arbel from the settlement of Mesua calls such boycotts 'really disgusting,' but acknowledges the sector is prepared for any new UK ban on settler goods. With a good harvest expected, Israeli growers are bracing for the impact of new Western sanctions.
Settler violence against Palestinians has surged to an all-time high, according to the UN, with repeated attacks on local communities, particularly Bedouin and herding communities. In January, the last of some 600 villagers fled their homes in Ras Ein al-Ouja after intense harassment by hardline settlers, often backed by Israeli security forces.
The White House has issued a warning to Australia regarding its digital duty of care bill, which forces social media and US-based tech giants to clean up their platforms and remove harmful content. The US government has warned trading partners against imposing digital services taxes and other forms of extortion on the technology sector.
Background
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a land area of 7,688,287 km2 (2,968,464 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest country in the world, and is the world's flattest and driest inhabited continent.
What's still developing
- Quoting a former Israeli minister of health and retired brigadier general, Ephraim Sneh, he said the UK government "agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank perpetrated by settler terrorists", to which the Israeli government had "turned a blind eye" or actually supported.
- The Israeli Civil Administration told the BBC that it keeps "continuous contact" with the Palestinian Water Authority and assists in carrying out repairs to water infrastructure.
- Dates are among the agricultural products commonly exported from Israeli settlements in the West Bank Juicy brown and ripening yellow dates dangle down from the branches of each palm tree at Israeli settler farms in the Jordan Valley, in the occupied West Bank.
- Palestinians strongly back such a move, but Israel's foreign minister called it "hostile" and announced a series of counter measures, including the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem.
- In a speech to the Senate chamber yesterday, Wong said the government had concerns with a blanket ban, and that it could lead to unintended consequences for Australian businesses, for Palestinians and for Israelis.