The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) calls on the Australian government to immediately and unequivocally condemn, and act to intervene in, Israel’s escalation of its genocidal attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Israeli tanks have rolled into the city of Jenin for the first time since 2002, razing streets and infrastructure, and marking yet another step in Israel’s ongoing ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation of Palestinian land.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government has announced that Occupation Forces would remain in the West Bank for at least a year, openly declaring its intention to prevent 40,000 Palestinians forced from their homes in the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams from returning.
This comes as Israeli settlers have unleashed a wave of violence across the area, including burning Palestinian property in occupied East Jerusalem.
Combined with Israel’s ongoing ban on UNRWA operations across these areas, Israel’s assaults on the West Bank constitute a deliberate campaign to erase Palestinian communities, dismantle their right to return, and entrench its apartheid regime through systematic displacement and military repression.
At the same time, Israel has violated its ceasefire agreement in Gaza, refusing to release 602 Palestinian hostages, including 47 Palestinians who were rearrested after previously being freed in the 2011 Shalit deal.
Israel’s airstrikes and attacks on Lebanon also continue, in blatant violation of the ceasefire agreed upon in November 2024.
Israel’s ongoing ethnic cleansing, genocide, apartheid, collective punishment and blatant disregard for international law must be met with more than empty rhetoric.
The Australian government cannot continue to simply issue weak statements while Israel carries out these war crimes with impunity.
We demand immediate and decisive action:
- Strong public condemnation of Israel’s invasion of Jenin and its military occupation and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.
- Sanctions on Israeli figures, including politicians and military officials responsible for ongoing violations of international law.
- A two-way arms embargo on Israel, ending the direct and indirect transfer of all weapons, components and dual-use items to Israel’s Occupation Forces.
- The suspension of trade and diplomatic agreements that enable Israel’s apartheid policies and occupation.
- Support for international efforts to hold Israel legally accountable for its genocide and apartheid, including an explicit commitment to enforcing the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli leaders and fulfilling Australia’s obligations under the Genocide Convention to prevent and punish genocide.