AUSTRALIA is conducting a review of all 66 military export permits to Israel approved before the invasion of the Gaza Strip, Palestine, last year. This was reported by the Guardian on Saturday (19/10), citing sources from the Ministry of Defense.
These permits are being evaluated by the Department of Defense on a case-by-case basis. This considers compliance with Australia’s international obligations, including those relating to human rights.
“As the situation in the Middle East develops, Australia continues to monitor pre-existing export permits to Israel to ensure they comply with our measured approach,” the newspaper quoted an unnamed defense spokesman as saying.
The review follows a request from the Australian Center for International Justice to Defense Minister Richard Marles in April requesting the cancellation of all applicable export permits to Tel Aviv and other countries that may then provide them to Israel.
Canberra has repeatedly stated that it has not provided weapons or ammunition to Israel since the war began and continues to maintain that position.
However, the federal government has faced criticism for failing to be transparent about what each permit covers. Canberra also defended the supply of spare parts for the global supply chain of F-35 fighter aircraft.
Israel has used F-35 aircraft in Gaza to kill more than 42,000 people since Hamas’ cross-border attacks reduced the area to rubble.
According to the Ministry of Defence, Australia is not a major defense exporter to Israel, but permits are required for a variety of goods, including IT equipment, software, radios, electronic components and dual-use items.
Australia has issued about 247 permits related to Israel since 2019. About 66 permits, according to officials, are still active.
The Greens, Australia’s third largest political party, have demanded a halt to all two-way military trade with Israel. The party’s defense spokesman, David Shoebridge, said Australia should do nothing to embolden Israel to continue genocide.
However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government rejected the idea of ending contracts with Israeli companies that supply goods for use by the Australian Defense Force and police.
The Australian Center for International Justice welcomed the review. He said the development was the result of ongoing pressure from a protest movement from civil society groups to cut exports to rogue countries. “Over the past 12 months, the Australian government has been reminded by the ICJ, ICC, UN bodies and many international organizations of Israel’s long list of violations of international law. We call for a full arms embargo, no imports, no exports, no transfers ,” the center said in a statement posted on X.
Human rights defender Rawan Arraf said, “For 12 months, the government has been happy to obscure facts and spread misinformation about its arms export regime to rogue states.”
“There is no reason for a long delay in reviewing current arms exports. This review should also include checks on exports that end up in Israel,” he said in a post on X. (Ant/Z-2)
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