Sources say Australia withdrew from West Bank sanctions talks ahead of statement
In short:
A coalition of 12 countries that released a statement on the West Bank last week were "disappointed" when Australia did not join them.
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Australia → say → them
Australia was involved in discussions but withdrew late in the process, sources said.
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sources → involve → process
The Australian government said it was "working closely together towards the same objective" with international partners.
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it → say → partners
European diplomats say they were surprised and disappointed that Australia baulked at joining a UK-led move to impose trade sanctions on West Bank Israeli businesses.
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Australia → say → businesses
Last week the United Kingdom announced a major policy shift by targeting Israeli settlements with sanctions, declaring that ethnic cleansing was taking place in the West Bank and declaring Israel's occupation of the territory unlawful.
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occupation → announce → territory
The move was followed by a collective statement from 12 governments — the UK, France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden — which said they would also either commit to or consider targeting trade with illegal settlements.
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they → follow → settlements
In the lead-up to the statement's release, EU officials had been working to try and build a wide coalition of countries to ramp up pressure on Israel.
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officials → work → Israel
Australia had been involved in those discussions — and had indicated it was open to taking more action on the West Bank — only to ultimately decide it would not join the action reasonably late in proceedings, multiple diplomatic sources from different countries told the ABC.
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sources → involve → ABC
According to four diplomatic sources, Australia was involved in the discussions around the sanctions until close to the statement's finalisation.
Canada was the only country outside Europe to put its name to the statement, despite those efforts to bring in a wider coalition.
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Canada → accord → coalition
Why Australia did not join coordinated move
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Australia → join → move
Over the past year, Australia has acted in concert with a large group of countries to try and press Israel over Gaza and over its treatment of Palestinians — including the joint push for countries to recognise the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in New York one year ago.
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countries → act → York
But its absence from the collective statement has created a gap in foreign policy between allies that had been moving in step.
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that → create → step
The ABC spoke to eight diplomatic sources, based across Sydney, Canberra, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, who said the coalition of countries had hoped Australia would join the statement and were disappointed when it did not.
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it → speak → statement
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly on the issue.
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they → speak → issue
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australia and international partners were "working closely together towards the same objective, even if we are not all taking exactly the same measures at the same time".
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we → say → time
"We are concerned blanket import bans present practical challenges, including how to ensure they do not inadvertently harm Palestinian businesses, workers and livelihoods.
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they → concern → businesses
The UK government has acknowledged these challenges as they work on their legislation over the next year," they said.
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they → acknowledge → year
"In the meantime, Australia is pursuing further targeted measures, in coordination with international partners, to deter illegal settlements and settler violence."
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Australia → pursue → settlements
EU allies expected Australia to join action
One official from a Nordic country which joined the statement said they believed Australia was "likely" to sign on.
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Australia → expect → statement
They said Canberra had "missed an opportunity" to apply meaningful pressure on Israel by backing away from it.
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Canberra → say → it
Another official said they were "disappointed" that Australia did not sign the statement.
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Australia → say → statement
They said the Albanese government clearly had reservations about the impacts of the sanctions, and their enforceability, but speculated that the government was also worried about the domestic political impact.
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government → say → impact
A different EU official said they had seen some text for an earlier version of the statement, which had included Australia.
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which → say → Australia
It was not clear whether Australia had actually ever agreed to be part of the statement or was just written into a draft.
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Australia → agree → draft
It was only on the day the statement was released that two sources involved in the negotiations realised Australia had not joined, they told the ABC.
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they → release → ABC
Two EU officials said they were "surprised" Australia did not sign on.
But another official from a different country also involved with negotiations painted a different picture, saying that while Australia had signalled it was open to signing on Canberra had never given a concrete commitment to join it.
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Canberra → say → it
The prospects of Australia following the UK may have also been complicated by local Australian politics, multiple sources suggested.
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sources → follow → politics
Some sources speculated the pressure Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been under since the Bondi terror attacks, and the criticism from Jewish groups that the federal government has not been strong enough on anti-Semitism, may have played a part in Australia's decision not to announce sanctions last week.
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government → speculate → sanctions
Other sources suggested internal politics meant the federal government could not pull together an aligned position in time to join the statement.
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government → suggest → statement
Just two months ago, at the Labor Party's national conference, MP and former Albanese Government cabinet minister Ed Husic had pushed — unsuccessfully — for the party to take almost identical measures to those announced by the United Kingdom.
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party → push → Kingdom
UK 'ethnic cleansing' statement caught officials off guard
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statement → catch → guard
Multiple sources from signatory countries also said they were caught off guard by UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's announcement that preceded the joint statement.
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that → say → statement
Mr Miliband told the British parliament there was "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians in parts of the West Bank and that Israel was turning a "blind eye" to it.
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Israel → tell → it
He also announced the British government's formal position was that the occupation of the West Bank was illegal, bringing the UK in line with the International Court of Justice 2024 advisory opinion.
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occupation → announce → opinion
His statement was a departure from the language agreed upon in the final joint statement, one EU source said.
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source → agree → statement
Mr Miliband became the first UK foreign secretary to declare the West Bank occupation illegal and describe settlers' actions as "ethnic cleansing", marking a shift in the country's policy on Israel.
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occupation → become → Israel
Australia 'ready to take more action'
Israel has been facing increasing international pressure over intensifying settler violence in the West Bank and its rapid expansion of settlements in the territory.
In August, four European countries released a joint statement condemning Israel's plans to move forward with a controversial development that would effectively split the West Bank in two.
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that → take → two
Israel's occupation of the West Bank, and settlements in the territory, are considered illegal under international law.
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occupation → consider → law
Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem this week released a report that concluded Israeli policies in the West Bank were "eliminating Palestinian collective existence".
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policies → release → existence
Israel has denied accusations of ethnic cleansing and rejects that its occupation of the West Bank, or its settlements, are illegal.
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occupation → deny → Bank
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia