The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) strongly condemns the brutal Israeli attacks on Rafah during the past 24 hours, which have burned alive, brutally killed and horrifically maimed scores of Palestinians.
These attacks have also caused widespread devastation of an area the Israeli Government had said was a “safe zone” for Palestinians to flee to when Israel’s Occupying Forces expanded their internationally criticised ground offensive in Rafah two weeks ago.
In light of these horrifying attacks, committed in brazen defiance of an International Court of Justice order just two days ago for Israel to cease its attacks on Rafah, APAN calls on the Australian Government to take immediate and concrete action to compel the rogue state to immediately end its genocide in Gaza.
The Australian Government must also publicly reiterate its support for both the ICJ’s legally binding orders against Israel, and the recent International Criminal Court’s application for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, for their roles in the Gaza genocide.
The Australian Government must leave no room for ambiguity in its response to Israel’s genocide, occupation, manufactured starvation and apartheid in Palestine. Australia can waste no more time in:
- Imposing targeted sanctions against Israel, including diplomatic and economic measures, to demonstrate its unequivocal condemnation of Israeli aggression and its commitment to upholding international law.
- Expelling the Israeli ambassador, recalling its ambassador to Israel and suspending diplomatic relations until Israel ceases its genocide and complies with international law.
- Ending the two-way trade of weaponry and components, including the issuing of permits for the export of weapons components where Israel is the end user.
Quotes attributed to APAN President Nasser Mashni:
“Overnight, we witnessed the ultimate depravity of Israel’s Occupying Forces dropping 2000 pound bombs on terrified and starving Palestinian families sheltering in tents in Rafah.
“We will never forget the scenes of wanton Israeli brutality that have been live streamed from this hellscape on earth – the babies decapitated by Israel’s bombing, the Palestinian families burned alive in their tarpaulin shelters.
“This is the work of a genocidal rogue state. This ongoing and escalating violence, bloodshed and destruction is a direct result of Israel’s unchecked aggression and impunity.
“The Australian Government has helped to offer Israel this impunity by refusing to condemn it, refusing to end its support for it, over a period of almost eight months now.
“Australia can no longer equivocate in its response. There is no justifying, rationalising, excusing, covering up or diverting attention from what we have seen in Gaza these past eight months, or what we bore witness to these past 24 hours.
“We demand immediate and decisive action from the Australian Government to hold Israel accountable for its heinous crimes against the Palestinian people.”