There is something troubling about the recent five-day trip to Australia by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, something beyond the charade of pomp, bravado and contrived pleasantries.
The trip itself was heralded as historic, firstly because it was the first visit of a prime minister of Israel to Australia. The agenda was primarily related to trade negotiations, and more significant issues relating to Israel’s occupation were left off the official agenda.
What is troubling is the Australian government’s apparent willingness to collaborate with Netanyahu’s plans, including – just as the United States President Donald Trump appeared to have done – engaging in Netanyahu’s fantasy version of a “Palestinian state”, which in essence is a form of limited occupation with de facto apartheid conditions, or “occupation lite”.
The troubling part is that the Australian position, which has shifted to the right since 2013, is flirting more intensely with this fantasy and, at the same time, encourages Israel’s breaches of international law.
It makes no sense why Australia is in step with successive Israeli governments. Polling trends among the Australian public show a more responsible attitude to the Palestinian-Israeli issue than that adopted by Australian Labor and Liberal governments.
Under a Labor government with Julia Gillard as prime minister in 2012, Australia refused to recognise a Palestinian state and this has been the position of the current Liberal government.
The Labor opposition is still grappling with whether to adopt acceptance of statehood as a policy, and on the eve of Netanyahu’s visit, former Labor prime ministers, Bob Hawke and Kevin Rudd, and former Labor foreign minister Bob Carr have been actively calling for Australia (and the Labor Party) to recognise Palestine, and have sharply criticised Israel’s continued settlement expansion policy which they recognise is a violation of international law.
The Australian government’s flirtation with Israeli demands has extended to a selective and dangerous approach to international law. Why is this the case? It can be described as an ideological attitude that permeates across other domestic policies.
In June 2014, Australia found itself in the middle of a serious diplomatic crisis when Attorney General George Brandis, who despite being the first law officer in the country, with no expertise or knowledge in international law, refused to accept East Jerusalem as occupied.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop agreed with Brandis saying the term was not helpful. Both Bishop and Brandis tried to defuse the policy shift as many Arab and Muslim majority countries threatened sanctions against long-standing trade links. Netanyahu at the time welcomed the change.
