The Alliance of Australian Muslims (AAM) and the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) welcome Australia’s sanctions on extremist, far-right Israeli Ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
Earlier today, Australia, alongside allies including Canada, the UK, and New Zealand, issued a joint statement announcing targeted sanctions against these individuals. This follows Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s remarks condemning their “extremist violence and destabilising conduct” and reflects growing international concern over the actions of Israel’s far-right government.
This is a significant and necessary step toward acknowledging the ongoing settler violence and forced displacement of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, an injustice that has persisted for more than 77 years. Under the Netanyahu-led government, Israel has accelerated the annexation of Palestinian land through the rapid expansion of illegal settlements.
Both Ministers have a well-documented record of racist, inflammatory, and violent rhetoric that has fuelled ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and genocide in Gaza and the West Bank. These are not isolated incidents but part of a broader extremist ideology driving the current Israeli government’s policies of annexation, land theft, and ethnic cleansing.
Today, over half a million Israeli settlers illegally occupy Palestinian land across more than 100 settlements in the West Bank. As settler expansion intensifies, over three million Palestinians live under oppressive Israeli military rule and apartheid-like conditions. Many have been forced to flee their homes due to rising settler violence and inhumane living conditions.
The Netanyahu government has consistently expressed its intent to displace Palestinians from both Gaza and the West Bank, actions that directly undermine Australia’s stated commitment to ending the war in Gaza, ending the occupation, and supporting Palestinian self-determination.
We urge the Australian Government to adopt a stronger, principled stance against the ongoing war crimes and acts of genocide committed by the Israeli regime. Sanctions against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who bears direct responsibility for war crimes and broader sanctions against the Israeli state are essential steps to protect Palestinians who have endured systemic violence, occupation, and ethnic cleansing for more than 77 years.
