Sydney: An Australian senator on Friday urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's administration to join the Hague Group on Palestine, emphasizing the importance of supporting international efforts to prevent genocide and hold perpetrators accountable.
According to Anadolu Agency, Senator Lidia Thorpe commended the efforts of over 20 countries whose representatives convened in Bogota on Wednesday. These countries agreed to pursue legal and diplomatic measures against Israel due to its ongoing violations of international law in Gaza and the West Bank. "This is what real action to end genocide looks like," stated Thorpe in a message shared on X.
The summit, led by the Hague Group, included member nations such as Colombia, South Africa, Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, and Senegal. The group, established in January in the Netherlands, aims to hold Israel accountable under international law. Delegates from countries including Trkiye, Brazil, Portugal, Algeria, Lebanon, Oman, Uruguay, Bangladesh, Chile, Djibouti, Indonesia, Nicaragua, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, along with Palestinian representatives, were also in attendance.
Several participating states signed an agreement to take coordinated actions, such as halting arms transfers to Israel, blocking military shipments by sea, and reviewing public contracts to sever ties with companies involved in the occupation. Thorpe emphasized the necessity for Australia to align itself with these global efforts. "Australia must join global efforts to prevent genocide and hold perpetrators to account," she asserted. Despite being invited to the emergency summit in Bogota, Australia chose not to attend.
Thorpe urged the Labor government to sign the agreement and support her "Red Lines Bills," which she submitted in Parliament alongside Senator Fatima Payman. She stated that this legislation would align Australia's policies with the Hague Group's measures and its international legal obligations.
In related news, Australian authorities have released a 61-year-old Palestinian grandmother, Maha Almassri, whose visa was canceled over security concerns, as reported by ABC News on Friday. Almassri, who fled Gaza in February 2024, was living in Sydney with her son when she was detained by the Australian Border Force last Thursday. Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Customs Julian Hill had revoked her visa.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke declined to comment on the specifics of the case. "Any information in the public domain is being supplied by the individual or her family and is not necessarily consistent with the information held by our intelligence and security agencies," Burke mentioned on Friday.