The Wave of Calls for an Arms Embargo on Israel Continues to Strengthen

It is important to impose an arms embargo on Israel. Moreover, Israel also failed to comply with the International Court of Justice.

AFP

Palestinian children amidst building rubble caused by Israeli bombing in Gaza on Friday (29/3/2024).

CANBERRA, FRIDAY — Calls for an arms embargo on Israel are getting stronger. This is because weapons imported by Israel are strongly suspected of being used to carry out genocide in Gaza. So far, Israel's allies have continued to supply weapons for the reason of supporting self-defense.

The latest attack by Israel occurred on Thursday night and early Friday (29/3/2024) morning. The attack on the Al-Shejaia area killed 17 people, while the attack on Al-Maghazi killed 8 people. The attack on Rafah, on the other hand, killed 12 people.

Also read: Malaysia Arrests Israeli Citizen Who Owns Six Pistols

Since Israel's invasion in October 2023, more than 32,000 civilians in Gaza have died. In addition, 12,000 Gazans are still missing and are feared to be buried under the rubble of various buildings destroyed by Israel's attack. There are no signs that Israel will stop its attacks on Gaza and the West Bank.

AFP

Palestinian children amidst building rubble caused by Israeli bombing in Gaza on Friday (29/3/2024).

Furthermore, despite condemnations from an increasing number of countries, Israel continues to receive weapon supplies from its allies. Even last week, the United States approved a $3.8 billion defense aid for Israel.

Australian Supply

Some of Israel's weapon spare parts are supplied by companies in Australia, including HTA. The company is said to be a supplier of spare parts for F-35 jets. On Friday afternoon, the company's office was visited by protesters.

It starts with implementing an embargo on weapons and sanctions against Israel to ensure that this will not happen again in the future.

Protests have also occurred at the Rosebank Engineering office. Like HTA, Rosebank Engineering is also involved in the production process of the F-35. The jet is one of Israel's weapons to bombard Gaza.

Also read: International Court Orders Israel to Open Border Gates to Gaza

The F-35 manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, stated that there are 70 Australian companies involved in the production and maintenance of the F-35. The contract with these 70 companies is worth 2.69 billion US dollars.

During 2016-2023, Australia issued 322 export licenses for weapons and defense equipment to Israel. Australia's Minister for International Development, Pat Conroy, denied that Canberra exports military equipment to Tel Aviv. Australia only exports support equipment, such as radar and communication systems. These devices can be used for civilian purposes.

Australian Senator David Shoebridge hopes that the Anthony Albanese government will listen to the voices of the citizens. Currently, Australian citizens are urging the government to end arms trade with Israel. Australia's support for Israel is considered a moral failure.

Also read: Israel Doesn't Heed UN Resolutions, Continues to Attack Gaza and Lebanon

Separately, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights issues in Palestine, Francesca Albanese, urged an arms embargo on Israel. "I ask member states to fulfill their obligations which can start by implementing an arms embargo and sanctions against Israel to ensure that in the future this will not happen again," he said.

With the current total number of deaths, it means that 250 Gaza residents die every day, and 100 of them are children. Israeli attacks have also killed 340 healthcare workers and 115 journalists.

AFP

Palestinian children amidst building rubble caused by Israeli bombing in Gaza on Friday (29/3/2024).

So far, Israel has failed to prove that the men killed in Gaza were members of Hamas. Deaths from Israeli attacks can only be justified if the targets are actively carrying weapons.

Albanese said Israel was disrupting international humanitarian law. The Israeli army does not discriminate and prevents attacks on civilians and combatants.

Also read: UN Resolution Proves Israel's Isolation

Therefore, it is important to impose an arms embargo on Israel. Moreover, Israel has also failed to comply with the International Court of Justice to prevent civilian deaths in Gaza as much as possible.

In addition to an arms embargo, political and economic sanctions should also be imposed on Israel. This is to force Israel to comply with international law. (AFP/REUTERS)