Pearls and Irritations

Australia is continuing to expand its relationships with Israel’s defence sector, defying the UN’s International Court of Justice.

Republished from DECLASSIFIED AUSTRALIA, November 05, 2024

Australia is yet to give effect to urgings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to suspend all military trade with Israel until a review is completed of the exports.

In its 18 October 2024 Position Paper, the United Nations’ “Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel” stipulated that compliance with the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s findings requires that any member State, which includes Australia,

“shall cease its transfer or trade until the State is satisfied that the goods and technology subject to the transfer or trade are not contributing to maintaining the unlawful occupation or to the commission of war crimes or genocide.”

The central statement by the Australian government has been by Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Penny Wong, when she stated in November 2023 that:

“I am advised that Australia has not supplied weapons to Israel since the Hamas-Israel conflict began and I am advised that that has been the case for at least the last five years.” Foreign Minister

The statement brought about howls of derision from politicians, researchers, and independent journalists that the statement was untrue.

The minister was playing a semantic trick, only denying that complete weapons were exported. She would have known that weapons components, weapons parts, physical items of materiel, know-how, and intelligence were still being provided to Israel as they continued their bloodletting.

Spectacularly, it was the Defence Department that overturned the Minister’s subterfuge.

In October 2024 the Department of Defence exposed the minister’s deception when it confirmed that:

Australia had issued about “247 defence export permits” that relate to Israel since 2019 of which about 66 remained “active”. Senior Defence adviser.

It is in Declassified Australia that the details of the multi-millions of dollars of spare parts being provided to the Israeli F-35 fighter bombers, and the intelligence going from Pine Gap to the Israel Defense Force (IDF), has been precisely reported.

The United Nations itself also demolishes Minister Wong’s deceiving words. It defines the defence trade with Israel as including:

“All transfer and trade agreements with Israel, including but not limited to equipment, weapons, munitions, parts, components, dual use items and technology.” United Nations report.

Australia’s engagement with the Israeli military and intelligence goes further.

Cozying up to Israel

Declassified Australia can reveal that the Australian government has a contract with an Israeli company co-owned by a close confidante of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This businessperson also owns a defence company serving the IDF, runs a cyber company serving Israeli intelligence, and runs a business profiting from illegal exploitation of Palestinian land.

On 4 June 2018 the Australian Defence Export Office and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade)signed a Memorandum of Understanding to engage dedicated local industry experts in key export markets to deliver ‘enhanced export support for Australian defence businesses’.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)’s Austrade staff were now to be working on selling defence materiel to Israel, and on supporting Israeli military exports to Australia.

To boost this role, DFAT’s Australian Trade and Defence Office in Israel opened on 1 March 2019, not in the capital Tel Aviv, but in West Jerusalem in the ‘WeWork’ office complex, at the address King George 20, Jerusalem. At the time, the Morrison government was considering the highly politicised move of the Australian embassy to Jerusalem; the Albanese government did not proceed with that plan.

Despite 13 months of unrelenting bloodshed and international criticism, the office is still functioning, with the 2024 Defence Industry Development Strategy launched on 29 February confirming the role of Australian trade offices like the ‘Trade and defence Office” in Jerusalem:

‘The Australian Government provides a range of support to Australian defence industry for exports, including through the Team Defence Australia Program, GSC Program, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) and Export Finance Australia.’

What Australia’s Jerusalem staff are quietly working on is revealed in the department’s ’Development Strategy’, found by Declassified Australia within the departments’ own website:

‘Austrade Business Development Managers assist in identifying and capturing commercial development opportunities for Australian defence industry in overseas markets…. Defence also works closely with Austrade as the Australian Government’s trade and investment delivery agency. 

“Defence is looking to better utilise Austrade’s advisers and networks to support Australian defence industry. This includes provision of market intelligence on opportunities to inform initiatives such as the Team Defence Australia Program and delivery of targeted trade missions. 

“Defence and Austrade will refine and target their collaboration to better utilise Austrade’s advisers and networks to ensure greater opportunities for Australian defence industry, including enhanced market intelligence and understanding of foreign government programs.”

A few days ago, Declassified Australia received new documents about the Office, released under an FOI application.

Despite the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the International Court of Justice ruling of 26 January 2024 and its Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, Australia in July this year renewed its lease of the Australian Trade and Defence Office in West Jerusalem from 21 June 2024 until 30 June 2025, to continue its fine work.

Austrade’s West Jerusalem Office

The FOI documents obtained by Declassified Australia reveal that Austrade has a Membership Agreement with A W Shared Work Spaces Ltd, known as “WeWork”, for a small 16 sqm six-person office space. Space is tight so staff are working under hot-desking arrangements, and three Austrade staff are currently working out of the office.

Of particular note, Austrade’s access to their Australian Trade and Defence Office is strangely “non-exclusive”.

Austrade makes use of the office space, shared conference rooms, and has access to and use of a shared Internet connection. There is no evidence of Austrade seeking under the Membership Agreement a private secured wired network with an installed firewall device for exclusive secure use.

Given the nature and scope of the Trade and Defence Office activities, this is more than conspicuous, especially in a country that notoriously has and actively uses some of the most advanced and prolific surveillance operations in the world.

Inexplicably, DFAT’s Corporate Services Division Chief Security Officer’s Decision Paper for risk management states:

“There are no known sensitivities associated with this License Agreement, and the overall risk is considered to be low.” DFAT Security Chief.

Behind the ownership of the Austrade premises

It’s unclear whether departmental officials considered the actual ownership of the premises in their risk assessment.

In 2021, global company WeWork, signed an agreement with a leading real estate company in Israel, Ampa Group, giving them the exclusive right to operate WeWork Israel as a franchise.

Ampa Group states it operates in the fields of real estate, finance, industry, energy, agriculture, and hospitality. The group is owned by Shlomi Fogel, Shuki Wolf, Naftali Ceder, and the Nakash family.

Ampa Group owns the company Carmel Agrexco, which exports produce grown in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Ampa’s co-owner, Shlomi Fogel, is the Chairman of Carmel Agrexco.

Fogel is also a co-owner of Israeli Shipyards, which is “known internationally for the design and construction of combat-proven naval craft, which have protected Israel’s long coastline for the last 40 years.”

Fogel, a close friend and confidante of Prime Minister Netanyahu, is also a Board Adviser to Airobotics which reportedly has just revamped ‘its Counter-Drone Solution for Israel’s Gaza Offensive’.

He also financially backs Bold Analytics, which was established ‘in the wake of NSO Group’s Pegasus woes, a number of the firm’s cyberintelligence veterans have been snapped up by Bold’.

ln 2018 Fogel co-authored a report ‘Developing Northern Sinai – A New Diplomatic Paradigm’ directed at “providing solutions to the economic and humanitarian deprivation in Gaza (“the siege”) in the area of northern Sinai, while strictly maintaining Egyptian sovereignty.”

In October 2023 the Israeli Ministry of Intelligence recommended the forced and permanent transfer of the Gaza Strip’s 2.2 million Palestinians to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

Fogel’s approach may not have advocated such a direct breach of international humanitarian law but it certainly demonstrates his equally complete disregard for the right of Palestinians to have a say in their own destiny.

Australia’s involvement with Israel

It has now become notorious that on 15 November 2023, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, informed the Senate that “Australia has not supplied weapons to Israel since the Hamas-Israel conflict began and I am advised that that has been the case for at least the last five year”. If taken at her word, the period thus commenced in November 2018.

However FOI documents obtained by Declassified Australia tell another story. Australia was still pressing Israel to purchase Australian military products.

The documents reveal that in 2019 the then Morrison Government invited Israel’s Mr Mark Meir Sofer, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, to an event designed to showcase “world-leading Australian defence industry products, services and technology available for export to foreign governments”. It was the launch of the third edition of the Australian Military Sales Catalogue at Parliament House in Canberra on 12 February 2019.

That invitation was extended to Israel in the immediate aftermath of Israel’s bloody putdown of the Great Return March protests by Palestinians in Gaza, which began on 30 March 2018 and ended on 31 December 2019.

The United Nations Independent Commission of Inquiry on the protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territory found in February 2019, that “during the Great March of Return, Israeli soldiers committed violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Some of those violations may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity, and must be immediately investigated by Israel”.

It was only under persistent questioning by The Greens in the Australian Senate, that in October 2024 the Department of Defence confirmed that Australia had issued about “247 defence export permits” that relate to Israel since 2019, of which about 66 remained “active” – and are allegedly under review.

It may be the case that Australia has not provided complete weapons systems to Israel for at least the last five years. However it has not been forthcoming about what weapons parts, components, software, or other materiel the Australian Government or Australian companies have supplied to Israel and for what purposes they’re being used, since 2019.

Moreover, the Israeli Embassy in Canberra operates its own ‘Defence Office’ which it claims “represents both the IDF and the Ministry of Defence, and is a professional body connecting between Australian and Israeli defence establishments”.

“The main purpose of the Defence Office [of the Israeli Embassy in Canberra] is to develop the defence and security ties between the countries in various aspects, including exchange of knowledge, operational dialogue, industrial cooperation etc. The Defence Office is in regular contact with Israeli defence companies working in Australia, and helps any Israeli defence industry representatives with their activities in Australia.”

The Israel Trade and Economic Commission in Australia [operating from the Israeli Embassy in Canberra] “represents the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry and is the commercial and investment arm of the Israeli Embassy in Australia. It promotes, enhances and facilitates trade, investment and industrial research and development between Australia and Israel.”

Just last year, Israel’s then Director of Asia-Pacific Division at the Foreign Trade Administration, within the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry, Dr Shai Moses, posted on LinkedIn: “It was lovely to meet Jennifer Mackinlay and the team Austrade, during their visit to Israel. We discussed some great opportunities for Israeli and Australian companies to cooperate together.”

Attending the meeting in Israel were then Australian Trade and Investment Commissioner to Israel Naila Mazzucco, Austrade’s Business Development manager Alon Gold, Israel’s economic commissioner for Asia-Pacific Yammit Ittiel Lazar, Israel’s Trade Commissioner Ohan Blumberg, along with the Director of the Australian Trade and Defence Office in West Jerusalem, Michael Platt.

It was DFAT’s Jennifer Mackinlay, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner and Head of UK, Europe and Israel, who – according to the Australian Trade & Investment Commission Chief Security Officer – requested the 12 month renewal of the Austrade office space in West Jerusalem.

And little wonder that she did. At the 61st Australian Exports Awards ceremony held on 30 November 2023 South Australian cybersecurity company established by former Defence staff, Prophecy International, sees its “big opportunity” in cybersecurity and extolled the benefits of Austrade’s work in promoting its overseas sales.

Prophecy International is “continuing to build its momentum in the Middle East”, it proudly states in its Preliminary Final Report for the year ended 30 June 2024 to the Australian Stock Exchange. It boldly announced it signed in year-end 2024 a new contract for the supply of its Snare cybersecurity product to “The Office of the Israeli Prime Minister”. [Our emphasis]

Austrade’s Jerusalem office, or the Australian government, should have undertaken an assessment on whether “the goods or technology subject to the transfer or trade are being used to maintain the unlawful occupation or to contribute to maintaining it”. We don’t know whether they did. Nor do we know whether they required “that Israel…prove otherwise”, as the UN Position Paper said they should in order to comply with the ICJ opinion.

Australia’s noncompliance with international obligations

Australia consistently asserts that it is a responsible global citizen, complies with international law and respects the rulings of the ICJ. If that was true, it is hard to see how the circumstances earlier described could be reconciled with the recent developments.

In the section titled ‘Military related relations’ of its 18 October 2024 Position Paper (page 7), the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in relation to member States implementing the International Court of Justice’s rulings:

“On the issue of arms and military transfer and trade relating to Israel’s military capability, States have a duty to conduct a due diligence review of all transfer and trade agreements with Israel, including but not limited to equipment, weapons, munitions, parts, components, dual use items and technology, to determine whether the goods or technology subject to the transfer or trade contribute to maintaining the unlawful occupation or are used to commit violations of international law.”

Note the International Court doesn’t use the tricky narrow description of ‘weapons’ that has been infamously used by Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Penny Wong.

The Court goes further: “This includes both preexisting agreements and future transfers to Israel. States are obliged to demonstrate that any transfer or trade relating to military capability is not being used by Israel to maintain the unlawful occupation or commit violations of international law.”

The crucial condition is this:

“If the goods or technology subject to the transfer or trade are being used to maintain the unlawful occupation or to contribute to maintaining it, States must immediately cease all such transfer or trade to Israel until such time that Israel can prove otherwise.”

The Commission’s directives also relate to operations of DFAT’s Trade and Defence Office in Jerusalem.

“The Commission is of the view that this restriction on military related relations applies also to research and development cooperation with Israel, … and any imports from Israel that provide funding and economic support to Israel to maintain the unlawful occupation.

The Commission sets out that it is Australia’s obligation in verifying with certainty no use of Australian defence related technologies or products by Israel in breach of international law.

“Additionally, States have positive obligations, under both the Geneva Conventions and the Genocide Convention. States must ensure that Israel is not committing or preparing to commit violations of international humanitarian law. States must also prevent or punish genocide. As such, the positive obligations of States engaged in any transfer or trade to Israel that contributes to Israel’s military capability are even more heightened in this.”

Then the Commission declares that given the seriousness of the impact of the trade in assisting Israel, it recommends Australia must investigate and ensure the trade is not “contributing to maintaining the unlawful occupation or the commission of war crimes or genocide”.

“Thus, the Commission recommends that any State engaged in such transfer or trade to Israel shall cease its transfer or trade until the State is satisfied that the goods and technology subject to the transfer or trade are not contributing to maintaining the unlawful occupation or to the commission of war crimes or genocide and thereafter throughout any period when the State is not so satisfied.”

Our government’s international legal responsibilities extend also to investigating and regulating individuals and corporate entities who act in and from Australia to support legally proscribed conduct of the Israeli State.

Instead of being openly proactive in taking steps to comply with its international obligations, our government seems to be either flouting or sidestepping them in the interest of trade or geopolitical considerations, or professing compliance while avoiding accountability by using verbal sleights of hand in its public statements, and obfuscation and secrecy provisions to foil FOI and other requests for real information.

If our government, including Ministers, Defence and Foreign Affairs and Trade, have nothing to hide they must be open and upfront with the Australian people about what they have done and what they intend to do to ensure their own, and Australia’s, compliance with the international laws they claim to respect and uphold.