2025-06-11
The Australian government has imposed sanctions on two extremist Israeli Cabinet Ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, for inciting violence against Palestinians. The US has condemned these sanctions, highlighting growing tensions between Australian public opinion and American foreign policy positions.
Greens Senator and Foreign Affairs Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:
“Sanctions against two extremist Israeli Cabinet Ministers who incite appalling violence against Palestinians are extremely late but welcome.
“These sanctions should have been imposed months ago when these ministers first called for ethnic cleansing and the starvation of Gaza. Every day of delay has meant more Palestinian lives lost while Australia maintained diplomatic niceties with those actively promoting war crimes.
“The world must now urgently move to sanction the Israeli war industry and end the two-way weapons trade.
“Millions of people around the world have come together to force their governments to begin sanctions. Global solidarity is daily confronting power and entitlement to demand a Free Palestine.
“The US condemnation of these modest sanctions is another clear demonstration of how far our two countries’ values are diverging.
“The Australian government must start listening to the growing groundswell of public opinion and end AUKUS as part of a comprehensive review of our military dependency on the US.