Australia condemns Israeli settlements as Herzog arrives in Canberra
The Albanian government has condemned Israel’s move to expand settlement construction in the West Bank as Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrives in Canberra for the second leg of his contentious visit to Australia.
Herzog met with Governor-General Sam Mostyn at Government House on Wednesday morning before visiting Parliament House, where he will meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.
Several hundred protesters had gathered outside Parliament House on Wednesday morning with a banner calling for Herzog’s arrest. There were no signs of violent clashes between police and demonstrators at an anti-Herzog rally in Sydney on Monday evening.
Israel’s security cabinet agreed over the weekend to make it easier for Jewish settlers to buy land and expand Israeli control over the occupied West Bank. The move was criticized as undermining the Oslo Accords and hopes for a two-state solution.
“We are deepening our roots throughout the land of Israel and burying the idea of a Palestinian state,” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said when announcing the new policy.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said: “Australia objects to the Israeli Security Cabinet’s decision to expand Israel’s control over the West Bank.
“This decision will harm stability and security,” he said.
The spokesman said: “The Australian government has made clear that settlements are illegal under international law and a significant obstacle to peace. Changing the demographic structure of Palestine is unacceptable.”
“The two-state solution remains the only viable path to long-term peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described Israel’s actions as “destabilizing” and stated that the International Court of Justice had found that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory was illegal and should be ended as soon as possible.
Guterres warned that the changes “erode hopes for a two-state solution.”
A group of human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have called on Australia to impose targeted sanctions on the World Zionist Organization for its role in encouraging settlement building in the West Bank.
The organization’s president, Yaakov Hagoel, is traveling to Australia with Herzog’s delegation.
The Australian Center for International Justice and Palestinian rights groups wrote to the Australian Federal Police on Tuesday asking for an investigation into whether Hagoel violated the Australian Criminal Code by encouraging settlement construction, which is illegal under international law.
Rawan Arraf, the centre’s director general, said: “If the Australian government is serious about the illegality of settlements and its so-called commitment to peace, then it should not provide diplomatic protection to those facilitating Israel’s illegal settlement initiative. Hagoel must be investigated.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, referring to the Biblical name of the West Bank, said: “Judea and Samaria is the heart of the country, and strengthening it is the most important security, national and Zionist interest.”
Before arriving in Australia, Herzog told this imprint that the “two-state solution” was not currently feasible, which meant new ideas were needed to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
“We are a small piece of land, and the people who were attacked on October 7 were the biggest supporters of peace,” Herzog said.
“They were the first to be murdered, murdered, raped, burned and kidnapped. You can’t ignore that. This is a national trauma.”
He continued: “We have to go through a healing process. Coming in and saying to the Israelis, ‘Hey guys, divide your lands again for a two-state solution’ doesn’t work on the emotional side of the dialogue with the Israelis.”
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