Australia Withdraws From Anti-Israel Sanctions Coalition at Last Minute

Australia backed out of a Western initiative to impose trade sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) at the very last moment, despite participating in anti-Israel negotiations until then. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that Canberra had been discussing joining the initiative, spearheaded by the United Kingdom and European countries, with European governments expecting Australia to sign a joint statement.

Eight diplomatic sources told ABC that European diplomats were surprised and disappointed by Australia's decision. One source had seen an earlier draft of the statement that included Australia as a signatory, while two diplomats only realized Canberra had not joined on the day of its publication. Canada was the only non-European country to join the statement.

The joint declaration, signed by the UK, France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, expressed readiness to introduce or consider trade restrictions against Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Australia's Foreign Ministry stated that the decision was due to concerns that a broad import ban could "unintentionally harm Palestinian businesses, workers, and livelihoods." However, Canberra affirmed its commitment to coordinating with international partners and pursuing targeted measures against settlement construction and settler violence.

The report also touched upon a separate issue concerning the E1 settlement plan. Approximately a month before Britain announced its sanctions, Israeli Foreign Minister G Gideon Sa'ar spoke with his British counterpart, Ed Miliband. Three sources indicated that London interpreted this conversation as an Israeli commitment not to issue new tenders in E1 before the October elections. However, Israel subsequently announced tenders for about 1,200 housing units in E1, which Britain viewed as a breach of understanding. The Israeli Foreign Ministry denied this interpretation, stating Sa'ar only discussed the absence of changes on the ground and that the E1 project had been approved over a year prior.