The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN), alongside 32 other Australian organisations and more than 230 organisations worldwide, has signed a joint letter calling on governments to immediately end all direct and indirect arms transfers to Israel.
The demand specifically calls on all government partners in the F-35 fighter jet supply chain – including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK and the US – to immediately suspend all direct and indirect transfers of F-35 components and spare parts to Israel, in line with their international obligations.
Israel’s use of F-35 jets – each of them equipped with Australian-made, sole-source parts – has been well documented in its genocide in Gaza. In July 2024, an Israeli F-35 jet dropped three 2,000lb bombs on Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, a so-called “safe zone”, killing 90 Palestinians.
Legal action has been launched in multiple jurisdictions across the globe in a bid to hold these governments accountable for their role in enabling the transfer of these weapons and parts, which continues in direct violation of the Arms Trade Treaty.
On this continent, the Australian Centre for International Justice has led legal efforts on behalf of Palestinian human rights organisations Al-Haq, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.
This includes formally requesting that Defence Minister Richard Marles revoke all permits related to exports to Israel, including those granted under US licence-free agreements.
In June 2024, the Australian government announced a review of 66 current export permits to Israel, with findings due in December 2024.
In November 2024, the government announced 16 of those permits had “lapsed” or been “amended,” however there has been no further clarity on the remaining permits, highlighting a dire lack of transparency in this review process and the exports system, and a lack of political will to act.
There is no legal, moral, or strategic justification for Australia’s complicity in arming Israel. By enabling the supply of F-35 components, the Australian government is implicating itself in Israel’s atrocities in Palestine, including genocide and illegal occupation.
APAN demands that the Australian government implements an immediate, two-way arms embargo, ending all transfers – direct and indirect – of weapons, components and spare parts to Israel. This is the only acceptable and lawful course of action.
Comments attributed to APAN President Nasser Mashni:
“Australia’s failure to meet its international obligation to end the transfer of weapons and parts to Israel – whether directly or indirectly – has enabled Israel to maintain its genocide in Gaza for 500 days now.
“And the failure of Australia and allied western governments to act is now enabling Israel to extend its genocide into the West Bank.
“The Australian government cannot continue to hide behind opaque review processes and lip service to international law while Palestinians are being massacred with weapons it is helping to supply.
“The evidence is clear – Australian-made F-35 parts are being used in Israel’s genocide and illegal occupation. It is clear that Israel has not, and does not intend to, abide by international law. Supplying it with weapons and parts for it to flout the law is reckless in the extreme.
“Legal experts and the public have been demanding a two-way arms embargo on Israel for a year and a half – there is absolutely no excuse for Australian complicity or inaction.”