Australia urged to pressure Israel to stop 'slaughter' of Palestinians

An Australian rights group urged the government of Prime Minister Antony Albanese to pressure Israel to end its ongoing genocide and apartheid against the Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN), in a statement on Thursday, demanded Canberra suspend "all" trade and diplomatic relations with Israel, which continues violence in Gaza in clear violation of the ceasefire, as well as in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli forces have killed 10 people and wounded dozens in a brutal military invasion of Jenin, deploying Apache helicopters and engaging in indiscriminate violence.

Israeli settlers, emboldened by the protection of Israeli forces, are torching Palestinian homes, vehicles and businesses across the West Bank, terrorizing communities in a coordinated campaign of "ethnic cleansing," the statement added.

"These attacks and detentions all come following the Israeli violation of the new ceasefire, just 24 hours after it came into force, with Israeli snipers killing a Palestinian child in Rafah, and opening fire on another Palestinian who tried to reach the child," the statement further said.

The APAN urged the Australian government to implement sanctions against Israeli officials and entities responsible for these crimes.

Canberra should also join international efforts to hold Israel legally accountable for its genocide and apartheid and support the Palestinian struggle for "justice, liberation and equality," it maintained.

"The Australian government can no longer ignore its responsibilities under international law. It must immediately end its support for Israel's war crimes," it added.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank due to Israel's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, where at least 47,000 people have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 110,700 injured since Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 870 Palestinians have since been killed and more than 6,700 injured by Israeli army fire in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

- ANOTHER SYNAGOGUE ATTACK ATTEMPT SUSPECT ARRESTED

Australian police have arrested a second man over an attempt to set a synagogue on fire in Sydney earlier this month.

Detectives took a 37-year-old man into custody from a hotel on Pyrmont Bridge Road in Pyrmont on Thursday.