MEDIA RELEASE
18 August 2026
The Jewish Council is calling on the Australian Government to issue country-level sanctions against the Israeli Government, as Palestinian families in the West Bank village of Qusra have spent nearly a week under siege by Israeli settlers.
Palestinian residents in the West Bank have faced power and water cuts and argued that the Israeli military is complicit in this latest wave of settler terrorism. The latest demonstrations of Israeli military complicity show that this settler terrorism is taking place with state support and the only way to address this is country-level sanctions.
Pope Leo has joined the growing chorus of international leaders condemning the escalating violence by Israeli settlers, with even the Republican United States Ambassador to Israel, a longstanding supporter of the settler movement, condemning the perpetrators as “Israeli terrorists”.
The Jewish Council of Australia says the Australian Government is failing to meet the current moment and the time has come to move beyond individual sanctions on entities and towards country-level sanctions.
“Belgium has already banned imports from illegal settlements and is reviewing its public procurement with Israeli companies and Spain has enacted an arms embargo on Israel“, said Bart Shteinman, Executive Officer of the Jewish Council of Australia.
“It’s time that our Government followed European leaders and fulfilled our obligations under international law to respond to Israel’s campaign of ethnic cleansing.
“It’s long past time to send a message that Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, its siege and terror in the West Bank and its regime of apartheid must come to an end.”
“Settlers are terrorising communities every day and our Government must do more than finger waving condemnations and a handful of sanctions on individuals.
“The Jewish Council welcomed the decision by the Albanese Government to sanction a small number of settler outposts and individuals in June. But we warned then that it didn’t go nearly far enough, and what’s happening in Qusra right now must be a wake-up call that comprehensive sanctions are the only option left.
“Cutting off power and water to families, turning their homes into military zones, laying siege to entire villages, this is not the work of a few bad actors. It’s a system, and it’s being allowed to operate with impunity.”
“If the Australian Government is serious about protecting human rights, it needs to move to country-level sanctions that target the institutions actually funding and protecting this violence, not just the names attached to this week’s headlines.”
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