Israel is acting just like Russia, say Greens

The Greens have likened Israel to Russia and its attacks on Ukraine following more than 1600 airstrikes being launched by the Jewish state into Lebanon on Monday.

Greens defence spokesman David Shoebridge. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The Greens have likened Israel to Russia and its attacks on Ukraine following more than 1600 airstrikes being launched by the Jewish state into Lebanon on Monday, as Foreign Minister Penny Wong issues a warning to the 15,000 Australians living in Lebanon that the government will not be able to evacuate them in the face of a full-blown war.

In the deadliest attack since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, nearly 500 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes, including 35 children.

Despite Senator Wong expressing “deep concerns” over the escalation in violence, Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi said the sentiment fell short and was “disgraceful”.

“The Greens will keep fighting for justice, we will keep calling for sanctions on Israel and for the Israeli ambassador to be expelled from this country,” she said.
Greens defence spokesman David Shoebridge added that it “seems impossible” that the attacks by Israel were still happening.

“Remember when Russia attacked Ukraine, the swift global condemnation, the empathy with Ukrainian civilians, the immediate sanctions?” he said on X. “It is so far past the time for a two-way arms embargo with the state of Israel.”

According to the Israeli military, Hezbollah fired about 150 projectiles at northern Israel in a 24-hour period between Monday and Tuesday, while more than 8800 rockets, missiles and drones have been fired by Hezbollah into Israel since October 8.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said while he ultimately wanted to see long-term peace in the region, such a mission was “not achieved by simply turning a blind eye to terrorism or tolerating it, or by letting those responsible, the terrorist leaders and operatives, get away with it”.

Senator Wong said the government was “alarmed by the escalation and the loss of civilian life both in Lebanon and also the attacks into Israel”.

“We would urge all parties to de-escalate,” she said. “Whilst we are doing what we can to prepare contingency arrangements, the numbers of Australians in Lebanon are beyond the capacity of the government to provide assistance to all.”

The last evacuation mission conducted for Australians out of Lebanon saw just over 5100 people evacuated, following the outbreak of war in the region in 2006.

Senator Wong called for de-escalation between Israel and Lebanon from New York, following a meeting with officials from Britain, Switzerland, Japan and others to discuss the need for greater protections for humanitarian personnel, given the rising death toll for aid workers in the past year.

One of those workers was Australian Zomi Frankcom, who was killed in April following an Israeli Defence Forces strike against World Central Kitchen vehicles.

“We are determined to pursue a new Declaration on the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel, a declaration which we will prepare and develop over coming months, in which we’ll seek to demonstrate the unity of the international community’s commitment to protect humanitarian personnel and to channel that commitment into action in all current and future conflicts,” Senator Wong said.

A national security think tank has said Senator Wong’s push for new protections for aid workers in conflict zones seemed to be “unreasonably focused” on Israel “while diminishing the responsibility of terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah”.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute analyst Alex Bristow said: “The initiative will be ineffective if it fails to address the use of human shields – a tactic used by terrorist groups that flagrantly and deliberately puts at risk the lives of civilians, including aid workers.”

He said there was “ample evidence” of terrorist groups using humanitarian premises, such as hospitals, for cover. “It would be devastatingly counter-productive to give terrorists, including Hamas and Hezbollah, a free pass on international law compliance,” he said.

“After all, these organisations pose as legitimate political movements and care about their public image, which is the basis of their popular support. Therefore we must call them out publicly for war crimes, increasing the pressure on them to change tactics.”