“We, the signatories listed below, come together with a simple, urgent message: the war in Gaza must end now,” the statement said.
In short:
Australia has joined the United Kingdom, France and other countries in demanding an immediate end to the war in Gaza and for Israel to lift aid restrictions.
Israel says the statement is “disconnected from reality” and is urging countries to instead place pressure on Hamas.
What’s next?
The 25 countries went on to urge other members of the international community to “unite in a common effort to bring this terrible conflict to an end”.
ABC doesn’t seem to have a link to the full statement, but I believe it’s this: https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/media-release/joint-statement-behalf-26-partners-occupied-palestinian-territories
This statement has been signed by:
- The Foreign Ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK
- The EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management
It’s a pretty damn milquetoast statement. No mention of the ongoing genocide Israel is carrying out. No mention of the war crimes being committed in service of that genocide. No mention of the apartheid conditions Israel imposes on Palestinian people which were the initial cause of the war.
They can’t even name the state of Palestine properly.
I guess it’s nice that we’ve signed on to it. But it means nothing if it isn’t backed up by real action.