The Greens’ Mehreen Faruqi, opposition leader Peter Dutton and Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni all criticised Labor
Cowards – Mark
The Australian government has been accused by pro-Palestine and pro-Israel groups alike of “gutless” fence-sitting after it abstained on a UN vote on the need to urgently end the Israeli occupation.
The resolution was adopted by a 124-14 margin at the UN general assembly in New York early on Thursday, but the issue splintered western countries as the US joined Israel in outright opposition whereas New Zealand, France and Ireland voted yes.
Australia was among 43 countries to abstain after failing to secure support in negotiations to amend aspects of the resolution that it argued went beyond the scope of a recent landmark ruling by the international court of justice.
The eight-page resolution focused on the need for Israel to comply with the ICJ ruling, but also included much broader demands for “all states” to implement sanctions and take other actions “consistent with their obligations under international law”.
Sources familiar with the diplomatic negotiations said Australia had argued the resolution mischaracterised a “prescriptive list of policy demands” as legal obligations on all countries.
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