Australia accused of being missing in action on Hamas sanctions
The federal government is under pressure to follow its closest international security partners by imposing targeted financial sanctions on an alleged mastermind of the shocking October 7 attacks in Israel and other senior Hamas officials.
The United States and United Kingdom announced a fresh round of sanctions against Hamas fundraising officials this week, prompting questions about why Australia was not joining with its AUKUS partners in a co-ordinated effort to punish members of the listed terror group.
At the United Nations General Assembly this week, Australia voted in favour of an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, in a notable split from the US, which voted against the resolution, and the UK, which abstained.
The federal opposition is calling for Australia to issue targeted sanctions against Hamas’s political leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday defended the government’s ceasefire vote at the UN as the “right call” because “the numbers of casualties are just quite terrible there in Gaza – and every innocent life counts, whether it be Israeli or Palestinian”.
Hamas could have no future governing role in Gaza and must be disarmed, he said.
“We condemn unequivocally the atrocities that occurred on October 7,” Albanese told 2GB.
But while Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have both condemned Hamas this week, Australia has issued just one round of sanctions against the terror group’s officials since October 7, compared to four by the US and two by the UK.
On November 18, Wong announced counter-terrorism financing sanctions against eight people and one entity in response to the October 7 attacks, saying: “These sanctions are targeted at those most culpable for terrorist acts.”
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the government should go further by issuing sanctions against Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s political leader in Gaza, and Mahmoud Khaled Zahhar, a senior member and co-founder of Hamas.
The Israeli military believes Sinwar played a key role in planning the October 7 attacks, which led to the death of 1200 people, and 240 people being taken hostage into Gaza.
Israeli Defence Forces spokesman Richard Hecht has called Sinwar the “face of evil” and declared him a “dead man walking”.
Sinwar has been sanctioned by the US, UK and France. The US and UK imposed sanctions on Zahhar following the October 7 attacks.
Birmingham accused the government of leaving Australia “lagging behind our allies” by failing to impose sanctions on key Hamas officials.
“Since the horrific atrocities of October 7 by Hamas against Israel, many countries have swiftly and aptly applied successive rounds of sanctions and frozen assets of individuals or companies affiliated with Hamas and have continued to add further sanctions,” he said.
“Labor’s unwillingness to use the powers it has to target those responsible for and supporting terrorism falls far short of our allies in applying the practical mechanisms that will have real impact in supporting Israel’s campaign to disable Hamas and prevent it from committing such atrocities again.”
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said Australia was lagging behind its allies by failing to sanction key Hamas officials.
Targeted counter-terrorism financing sanctions make it a criminal offence, punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment and heavy fines, to provide assets to sanctioned individuals or to deal with their assets.
The entirety of Hamas was designated as a terrorist organisation in Australia under the Criminal Code in 2022.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said: “It is the Australian government’s long-standing practice not to comment on potential sanctions.
“Providing information about potential listings may provide entities and individuals with time to move assets outside of Australia and render the sanctions against them less effective.”
Article link: https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/australia-accused-of-being-missing-in-action-on-hamas-sanctions-20231215-p5ersk.htmArticle source: The Age/Matthew Knott
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