What must the Australian Government do to play our proper part in rebuilding Gaza and responding to the urgent needs of the Palestinian people? The Australians for Humanity webinar will pose and try and answer these questions.

While the State of Palestine has been recognised by the Australian Government, there has yet to be any public announcement detailing plans and policy for progressing Australia’s role in rehabilitating this devastated region and restoring independence and dignity to its people.

Discussion of humanitarian development will be facilitated by Kate Lee, executive officer of Union Aid Abroad and will include speakers with special experience of assistance to Palestinians. Dr Bushman Othman is a Palestinian Australian medical surgeon who has volunteered on three recent missions to Gaza returning in June this year. Rami Aljelda has provided humanitarian assistance in the Middle East and North Africa for more than 10 years. Michelle Higelin is executive director of Action Aid which has been working in Palestine for more than two decades.

Last week the International Court of Justice announced its Advisory Opinion in response to a resolution of the UN General Assembly of the United Nations. It reads:

“the state of Israel, as an occupying Power, is required to fulfil its obligations under international humanitarian law” so has “to ensure that the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory has the essential supplies of daily life including food, water, clothing, bedding, shelter, fuel, medical supplies and services.

Furthermore, the court identified these obligations for Israel:

• to facilitate relief schemes and not impede relief;
• to respect and protect all relief and medical personnel and facilities;
• to respect prohibition on forcible transfer and deportation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
• to respect the right of persons detained in Israel to be visited by the Red Cross; and
• to respect the right of prohibition of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.

In the final session of the webinar, Chris Sidoti, member of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, will speak about its recent findings of genocide in Gaza. The Australian Government has yet to respond to this finding despite being a signatory to the Genocide Convention. Indeed, responsible ministers including the prime minister, foreign minister, defence minister and attorney-general have consistently refused to comment on Israel’s continued breaches of international law.

Further, to date there have been no official announcements detailing how Australia will support President Trump’s Peace Plan. Australian peacekeeping in Gaza did not rate any mention when the prime minister was in Washington last week. Apparently, the Department of Defence has been in discussions about Australian military personnel joining the International Stabilisation Force. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade may have established a Palestine Recovery Task Force, but its role has not yet been detailed .

It is hard to maintain trust in the peace plan because there are ongoing reports from Gaza of random killing of civilians, limited progress in the reliable delivery of food and water and denial of urgent medical supplies. Yet, Australian ministers remain silent about Israel’s failure to comply with its international obligations as an Occupying Power. There has been no official announcement about how Australia will join the international community in stabilising and rebuilding Gaza.

Last week, the World Health Organisation announced that 41 critical patients had been evacuated from Gaza, but there remain 15,000 patients urgently waiting for medical care which can be provided by nations offering evacuation and medical treatment. Has the Australian Government considered sending an Australian Defence medical team to Gaza to assist with evacuations? Have medical trauma professionals been invited to advise on how Australia could best support this urgent need?

Many thousands of Australians have spent two years urging their government to be proactive in preventing the devastation of Gaza. Participation in the forthcoming webinar is an opportunity for us to now insist on immediate government action to provide practical support. The global community failed to stop genocide in Gaza, but with determined leadership the Australian Government should now be working overtime to restore peace and justice to the Palestinian people. It’s the very least we must do.

Join Australians for Humanity at their webinar The Future of Palestine: What Australia must do Friday 31 October 9:00AM - 3:30 PM in two sessions

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.