Australia is continuing to expand its relationships with Israel’s defence sector, defying the UN’s International Court of Justice.

Republished from DECLASSIFIED AUSTRALIA, November 05, 2024

Australia is yet to give effect to urgings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to suspend all military trade with Israel until a review is completed of the exports.

In its 18 October 2024 Position Paper, the United Nations’ “Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel” stipulated that compliance with the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s findings requires that any member State, which includes Australia,

“shall cease its transfer or trade until the State is satisfied that the goods and technology subject to the transfer or trade are not contributing to maintaining the unlawful occupation or to the commission of war crimes or genocide.”

The central statement by the Australian government has been by Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Penny Wong, when she stated in November 2023 that:

“I am advised that Australia has not supplied weapons to Israel since the Hamas-Israel conflict began and I am advised that that has been the case for at least the last five years.” Foreign Minister

The statement brought about howls of derision from politicians, researchers, and independent journalists that the statement was untrue.

The minister was playing a semantic trick, only denying that complete weapons were exported. She would have known that weapons components, weapons parts, physical items of materiel, know-how, and intelligence were still being provided to Israel as they continued their bloodletting.

Spectacularly, it was the Defence Department that overturned the Minister’s subterfuge.

In October 2024 the Department of Defence exposed the minister’s deception when it confirmed that:

Australia had issued about “247 defence export permits” that relate to Israel since 2019 of which about 66 remained “active”. Senior Defence adviser.

It is in Declassified Australia that the details of the multi-millions of dollars of spare parts being provided to the Israeli F-35 fighter bombers, and the intelligence going from Pine Gap to the Israel Defense Force (IDF), has been precisely reported.

The United Nations itself also demolishes Minister Wong’s deceiving words. It defines the defence trade with Israel as including:

“All transfer and trade agreements with Israel, including but not limited to equipment, weapons, munitions, parts, components, dual use items and technology.” United Nations report.

Australia’s engagement with the Israeli military and intelligence goes further.

Cozying up to Israel

Declassified Australia can reveal that the Australian government has a contract with an Israeli company co-owned by a close confidante of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This businessperson also owns a defence company serving the IDF, runs a cyber company serving Israeli intelligence, and runs a business profiting from illegal exploitation of Palestinian land.

On 4 June 2018 the Australian Defence Export Office and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade)signed a Memorandum of Understanding to engage dedicated local industry experts in key export markets to deliver ‘enhanced export support for Australian defence businesses’.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)’s Austrade staff were now to be working on selling defence materiel to Israel, and on supporting Israeli military exports to Australia.

To boost this role, DFAT’s Australian Trade and Defence Office in Israel opened on 1 March 2019, not in the capital Tel Aviv, but in West Jerusalem in the ‘WeWork’ office complex, at the address King George 20, Jerusalem. At the time, the Morrison government was considering the highly politicised move of the Australian embassy to Jerusalem; the Albanese government did not proceed with that plan.

Despite 13 months of unrelenting bloodshed and international criticism, the office is still functioning, with the 2024 Defence Industry Development Strategy launched on 29 February confirming the role of Australian trade offices like the ‘Trade and defence Office” in Jerusalem:

‘The Australian Government provides a range of support to Australian defence industry for exports, including through the Team Defence Australia Program, GSC Program, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) and Export Finance Australia.’

What Australia’s Jerusalem staff are quietly working on is revealed in the department’s ’Development Strategy’, found by Declassified Australia within the departments’ own website:

‘Austrade Business Development........

© Pearls and Irritations