“Australia is so wedded to a two-state solution, despite the Palestinians wanting a one-state solution with Israel eliminated, that it has declared sanctions on Israeli ministers who don’t agree with Australia’s views,” said co-founders of Indigenous Friends of Israel International, Norman and Barbara Miller.
“Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the actions of the two ministers ‘go against the notion of a two-state solution.’
“The pro-Palestinian lobby in Australia has been urging sanctions on Israel for some time. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong are delighted in their moral vanity to join the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in placing financial sanctions and travel bans on these two ministers.
“They are Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich who Penny Wong has accused of ‘inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank’ because of their support for Israeli settlements there which are she says are illegal under international law.
“There are, however, differences of opinion in international law on the status of the West Bank which includes East Jerusalem. The West Bank is a misnomer as it is actually Judea and Samaria, part of Israel for over 3,000 years as is Jerusalem, the ancient capital of Israel.
“Israel has no problem with Arabs living peacefully in Israel and there are over 2 million of them. They are Members of the Knesset or parliament, own businesses, are in professional occupations and are in the army and police forces.
“Of course, we do not condone settler violence, but we do not condone Palestinian violence either and the Australian government and some of the international community are very one-sided, discriminatory and antisemitic in continually condemning Israel and not the terrorists who attack it.
“Our hearts break for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza from a war started by Hamas. The joint statement by Penny Wong and other nations points to the humanitarian situation in Gaza as the fault of Israel not of Hamas who has been stealing aid for their own use and to sell at inflated prices to make money for their war effort. Hamas has been photographed shooting civilians queueing for aid.
“The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, urged that the sanctions be reversed, saying the US condemned the action and it would not ‘advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war.’
“Unfortunately, the actions of Australia and other nations who have imposed these sanctions show a morally bankrupt approach that will only embolden Hamas and the terrorist groups in the West Bank and slow down the peace process that they say they are aiming for.”