QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Prime Minister) (14:23): I thank the member for Mackellar for her question. Australia is steadfast in our commitment to the two-state solution. It is the only pathway to enduring peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

We've worked closely with our international partners on this issue and we'll continue to do so. The government's position on settlements is absolutely clear. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law, threaten the viability of a two-state solution and are a major obstacle to peace.

That is why, in coordination with partners, we've imposed travel bans and targeted financial sanctions on senior Israeli ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir because of their role in serious human rights violations and abuses against Palestinians in relation to illegal settlements and settler violence, just as we have, in coordination with partners, imposed sanctions on Israeli extremists for their abhorrent settler violence targeting Palestinian communities, the latest of which was in June.

These sanctions target extremist settlers and entities, including settlements responsible for horrific violence and human rights abuses. As the foreign minister has announced, we're pursuing further targeted measures, in coordination with international partners, to deter illegal settlements and settler violence. Australia is not pursuing a blanket-style import ban.

We have concerns about the implementation of a blanket ban and unintended consequences for Palestinians and other entities and that the declarations may not advance the objective of a two-state solution but may, in fact, provide a setback, as I said in a meeting I had with the member for Mackellar just this week. We will continue to work with our partners, as we will continue to call on Israel to immediately address illegal settlements and settler violence, which are undermining the two-state solution, just as we continue to condemn the ongoing acts of terror of Hamas, which are also aimed at undermining the two-state solution.

There are people on both sides of that debate in the Middle East who are determined to rule out two states through their actions, whether it be Hamas, which does not support the right of Israel to exist, or whether it be some of the people, including ministers in the Israeli government—Smotrich and Ben-Gvir—who are determined to rule out a Palestinian state.

A two-state solution is in the interests of both Israelis and Palestinians and is the only path forward for peace and security.