UPDATES

AIJAC comments on Carr/Hague AUKMIN 2013 Communique

Jan 22, 2013 | Colin Rubenstein

On Friday January 18 at the close of the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) conference in Perth, Foreign Minister Senator the Hon Bob Carr and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague released a joint statement on the Middle East peace process, condemning Israel’s settlements as “illegal under international law”. This was reiterated at a joint press conference the same day. The Australian reported on the story on Saturday, quoting AIJAC Executive Director Colin Rubenstein, who released the following media statement on Friday 18 January:

“We welcome Foreign Minister Carr’s and Foreign Secretary Hague’s call for the Palestinians to return to negotiations without preconditions.

Indeed, the Palestinian leadership has refused to engage in any constructive negotiations with their Israeli counterparts over the last four years, despite repeated, ongoing pleas from Jerusalem to do so.

However, their claims of the illegality of settlements are highly dubious and have been disputed, not only by Israel, but also by some of the world’s top lawyers.

Senator Carr and Foreign Secretary Hague should take into account that Israeli policies since 2004 have prevented any new settlements or the expansion of the boundaries of existing settlements, which take up less than 2 percent of the West Bank. 
Proposed construction in the area known as E1, which falls within the municipal boundary of a settlement, does not violate those policies.

Furthermore, population and internal growth within these existing settlements would not substantially affect the size, contiguity or viability of a future Palestinian state.

We believe that excessive and misplaced focus on this issue has been at the expense of speaking out on other issues of much greater import.

Besides the Palestinian refusal to engage in any constructive negotiations with their Israeli counterparts, other issues include continued incitement in Palestinian schools and official media, the ongoing rejectionism of elements of the PLO, and the crippling inability of the Palestinian Authority to speak for all of the Palestinian people, with a resurgent Hamas in control of Gaza, unreconstructed in its determination to destroy Israel.”

We also welcome their call for the Palestinians to abide by the terms of the Gaza ceasefire and to stop all rocket attacks.

The Australian editorialised on January 21 that Senator Carr and Mr Hague’s grandstanding on this issue undermines Israel’s sovereignty and reduces the complexity of Palestinian intransigence to simply blaming Israel. The same day, The Australian reported the strong comments of the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, Manager of Opposition Business, who labeled Carr as a “dangerous amateur” who ended Australian bipartisanship on the approach to Israel. Senator Carr subsequently commented on the comments as an extreme-Right attack of an Abbott Liberal opposition.

 

Tags:

RELATED ARTICLES


Screenshot from a tiktok video showing Palestinian Islamic Jihad rockets being launched at Israel from amidst civilians in a heavily populated area of Gaza

“Shield and Arrow”: Yet another Gaza conflict

May 12, 2023 | Update
Israelis celebrating Independence Day (Yom  Ha'atzmaut) in Tel Aviv (Photo: Shutterstock, Orlov Sergei)

Reflections on Israel’s 75th Birthday

May 3, 2023 | Update
Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu announces a pause in his Government's judicial reform plans in a televised address on Monday, March 27  (Image: Youtube screenshot)

Israel’s controversial judicial reforms put on hold

Mar 29, 2023 | Update
Image: Shutterstock

The implications of the Iran-Saudi deal

Mar 17, 2023 | Update
A joint air force drill during the Israel-US "Juniper Oak" military exercises in January, which were widely interpreted as sending a signal to Iran (Image: Pentagon)

New diplomatic strategies with Iran for 2023

Mar 10, 2023 | Update
Screenshot from a video showing radical Israeli rioters torching Palestinian homes in the West Bank town of Huwara (Image: Twitter)

West Bank unrest escalates following violent riots by Jewish protesters in Huwara

Mar 1, 2023 | Update

SIGN UP FOR AIJAC EMAILS

RECENT POSTS

Senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders attend a meeting with Iran’s Supreme Leader in Teheran, Iran (Image via Iran’s Supreme Leader’s website)

Essay: A New Multifront Strategy?

Erdogan vs. Kilicdaroglu: The former looks all but guaranteed to win a second round on May 29 (Image: Tolga Ildun/ Shutterstock)

What does Turkey’s election mean for Israel?

Netanyahu (right), with Defence Minister Gallant (top left), IDF Chief of Staff Halevi (bottom left) and other security officials (Image: GPO/ Flickr)

Israeli politics after “Shield and Arrow”

Biblio File: A Bob One Way

A scene from the movie BlacKkKlansman, which recalls an era of Blacks and Jews making common cause

Europa Europa: Antisemitism is its own thing

Senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders attend a meeting with Iran’s Supreme Leader in Teheran, Iran (Image via Iran’s Supreme Leader’s website)

Essay: A New Multifront Strategy?

Erdogan vs. Kilicdaroglu: The former looks all but guaranteed to win a second round on May 29 (Image: Tolga Ildun/ Shutterstock)

What does Turkey’s election mean for Israel?

Netanyahu (right), with Defence Minister Gallant (top left), IDF Chief of Staff Halevi (bottom left) and other security officials (Image: GPO/ Flickr)

Israeli politics after “Shield and Arrow”

Biblio File: A Bob One Way

A scene from the movie BlacKkKlansman, which recalls an era of Blacks and Jews making common cause

Europa Europa: Antisemitism is its own thing

SORT BY TOPICS