Report: Australia's reluctance to join settlement sanctions disappoints EU diplomats

Report: Australia's reluctance to join settlement sanctions disappoints EU diplomats

European diplomats have expressed surprise and disappointment after Australia declined to join a UK-led move to target trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to an ABC report based on interviews with diplomatic sources in several countries.

Twelve other nations had backed the UK’s decision, saying they would commit to, or consider, action on trade with illegal settlements. Canada was the only signatory from outside Europe.

Four diplomatic sources told the ABC that Australia took part in the discussions until close to the statement's finalisation and signalled openness to further action. It then decided not to sign.

"Some sources speculated the pressure Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been under since the Bondi terror attacks, and the criticism from Jewish groups that the federal government has not been strong enough on antisemitism, may have played a part in Australia's decision not to announce sanctions last week," according to the report.

"Other sources suggested internal politics meant the federal government could not pull together an aligned position in time to join the statement."