Sanctions against seven Israeli settlers must be accompanied by greater pressure to end illegal occupation of Palestinian Territories

25 July 2024

In response to Minister Penny Wong's announcement of sanctions against seven Israeli settlers responsible for violence in the West Bank, Amnesty International's spokesperson Ry Atkinson says,

"Any action from the Australian government that will bring pressure to bear on the Israeli government to end its occupation of Palestinian Territories, including the abolition of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, is welcome.

"However, for the Australian government to single out just seven individuals and one organisation who've committed heinous, violent acts against Palestinians in the West Bank risks the impression that Israeli settlers who have not committed overt acts of violence are legitimate."

"Establishing Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories flagrantly violates international law and constitutes a war crime. Following the International Court of Justice's opinion delivered Friday 19th July 2024, the Australian government is now obliged under international law to take unequivocal action to ensure Israel ends its unlawful occupation in full, including dismantling its brutal system of apartheid against Palestinians."

"The moral case against Israel's violent occupation of Palestinian Territories has long been established, with Amnesty International and other groups documenting decades of human rights abuses perpetrated by the Israeli government and military."

Earlier this year, Amnesty International published a new report documenting an alarming spike in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, highlighting the urgent need to dismantle illegal settlements, end Israel's occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories and its longstanding system of apartheid.