Letter from the Quaker Peace & Legislative Committee to the Australian Federal Parliament.
26 July 2024
Dear Federal Representatives
Re: Palestine, Israel and the International Court of Justice
At our recent national gathering Quakers expressed grief at both the decades-long injustices suffered by Palestinians and the current loss of life in Gaza being inflicted by the Israeli military.
We acknowledged that people in Israel as well as Palestine are living in extreme fear, intensifying historical collective traumas. We affirmed our call for an immediate ceasefire, as well as the release of all hostages.
To prevent further loss of life, we believe that the Australian Government should
(a) recall the Australian Ambassador to Israel for talks,
(b) place travel restrictions on Israeli Government officials involved in war-making, and
(c) end all military ties with Israel, including any direct arms sales or exports of weapons or weapons parts, and divest the Future Fund from Israeli arms manufacturers such as Elbit.
We also write about the 19 July 2024 decision of the International Court of Justice about Israel’s settlements. We welcome the Australian Government’s careful consideration of the ICJ’s decision, and the statement of respect of the Court. We are pleased that the Government has subsequently sanctioned Israeli citizens and a group complicit in settler violence as a first step of the Government’s response.
The scope of the International Court of Justice’s decision however is well beyond individual acts of violence by settlers. The Court states that the entirety of Israel’s settlements constitutes annexation of Palestinian land, violating Palestinian rights to self-determination.
Australia should also affirm the calls of the Court for Israel to dismantle the settlements, end its Occupation of Palestinian lands and its policies that are in breach of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Most importantly the Court’s ruling places a legal obligation on Australia to stop all trade in goods from illegal settlements and halt tax deductibility for Australian organisations supporting these illegal settlements.
As an elected representative in our Parliament, we ask you to do all in your power to bring Australia’s policies in line with these rulings by the International Court of Justice, as well as the International Criminal Court, so Palestinian people can have their rights to life and self-determination respected.
In peace,
Bruce Henry
Presiding Clerk
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia