The Australian Greens condemned the Labor government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for continuing to export components to Israel used to make weapons, according to Arab News.
“The Australian public knows that the Albanese government is permitting the export of armored steel, F-35 weapons parts and other critical materials to Israel and wants it to stop,” the Australian Greens Foreign Affairs spokesperson, David Shoebridge, said.
The remarks came after Australia’s Defense Minister Richard Marles said that his country did not send weapons to Israel. However, the government would continue to manufacture and export parts for the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet, which is used by the Israeli military.
Germany’s Unprecedented Step
Marles’s statement came after Germany made a bold stride of stopping exports of military equipment to Israel after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his government would expand operations in Gaza.
“Australia is a key part of the F-35 fighter jet program. We are the only place in the world that makes parts like the bomb bay doors (mechanism), and we operate as one of the few regional distribution hubs,” Shoebridge said.
Moreover, he noted that withholding F-35 component exports would limit Israel’s ability to conduct operations in Gaza.
“The fact Albanese is choosing not to do that makes us complicit (in genocide),” Shoebridge added.
Crucially, Albanese has previously noted that Australia already imposes appropriate sanctions on numerous Israeli government officials over their actions in the Gaza war.
“What we need to do here is to have very clear statements and actions by the Australian government that make a difference, rather than respond to a slogan on a protest,” Albanese said during a visit to New Zealand.
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