The Israeli war on Gaza and surrounding region has revealed a constant inconsistency among Western governments. My own Australia has been among those nations unable to conduct itself with any true impartiality. Despite recognizing Palestine as a state, it has gone on to support, supply, and enable Israeli military operations. This is true of other national governments, none more so than the United States; without their support the genocide would be impossible.

A memo of official government talking points was accidentally leaked to the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network. The talking points were intended for Australian Labor Party members of Parliament as to how they should respond to questions regarding the ongoing genocide and arm shipments to Israel. The prepared talking points included guided misdirection regarding these issues.

The Australian government has been supplying Israel with key parts for the F-35 fighter-bomber, which has been used by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to not only attack targets in Gaza but in Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. In official statements, the Australian government has claimed those parts were non-lethal, as if a segment of a war machine is peaceful or not deadly when incorporated into the greater whole. It’s with such language that politicians are able to lie themselves to sleep at night and deceive members of their own public.

From within the leaked internal document, the author uses the word “genocide” in reference to what is occurring in Gaza, even as this word is forbidden from the lips of government officials.

‘Defence exports

Australia is part of the international effort to stop this war. Australia has not supplied weapons or ammunition to Israel for at least five years before this conflict started. We maintain a robust and thorough export control regime, under which Defence undertakes a rigorous assessment of each application against a range of legislated criteria, including with respect to human rights and Australia’s international obligations.

F-35 parts

The F-35 relies on a global supply chain – one that is centrally coordinated by Lockheed Martin and the US Government. Australia contributes to this global supply chain because F-35s are a sovereign capability for the Australian Defence Force. We do not have a direct bilateral arrangement with the Israeli Government in relation to F-35s.’

The memo goes on to further remove any responsibility or obligations of condemnation in regards to the policies of Israel into Gaza,

‘Genocide

It is Australia’s longstanding position to respect the independence of international courts and tribunals and their role in upholding international law, including on questions relating to genocide.

As the Foreign Minister has said, Israel will be judged on its compliance with the Genocide Convention by the International Court of Justice. The International Court of Justice is currently considering South Africa’s case against Israel under the Genocide Convention. The Australian Government has been clear that the Netanyahu Government must comply with the binding provisional orders made in 2024 by the Court in that case. This includes ensuring the unhindered provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance at scale, in full cooperation with the UN.

Settlements and annexation

The Netanyahu Government is extinguishing the prospect of a two-state solution by rapidly expanding illegal settlements, threatening annexation in Palestine, and explicitly opposing any Palestinian state. Australia and the international community have condemned these actions and continue to call on Israel to cease its illegal settlement activity and hold perpetrators of settler violence against Palestinians to account.

As the Foreign Minister said on 21 August, along with 29 other Foreign Ministers, the decision by the Israeli Higher Planning Committee to approve plans for settlement construction in the E1 area, East of Jerusalem, is unacceptable and a violation of international law. Australia strongly opposes any steps towards territorial or demographic change in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The E1 settlement plan would divide a Palestinian state in two and critically undermine the two-state solution.’

Such double speak is not unique to Australia. U.S. administrations have also had to grapple with and balance a perception of respect for human dignity and universal rights with their loyalties and obligations to an ally (even when an ally is conducting outright criminality). The mastery of speaking from both sides of the mouth is a true skill, especially when it comes to war. Optics in the age of social media and short bytes of content have become more important than ever.

The Australian government has imposed a recent ban on all Australian companies supplying Israel with any form of defense hardware. This does not include the F-35 parts, as per the memo, which explains is due to a prior arranged global logistics network.

Back in April 2024, a U.S. State Department memo revealed internal disagreement concerning Israeli actions in Gaza. That leak revealed a lack of belief in the claims and assurances made by the Israeli government when it came to the restriction of aid and intentional harming of civilians. “Some components in the department favored accepting Israel’s assurances, some favored rejecting them and some took no position,” a U.S. official stated.

Reuters from around that time reported, “The assessment from the four bureaus said Israel’s assurances were ‘neither credible nor reliable.’ It cited eight examples of Israeli military actions that the officials said raise ‘serious questions’ about potential violations of international humanitarian law.”

A leaked internal memo from the BBC shows an intention to push an alternative narrative, that being criticism of Israel. The claim being the BBC supports Hamas and has an anti-Israel angle, with the editors and journalists instead pushing an ideological set of views despite supposedly being impartial, per their obligations as a State funded media outlet. The criticism of the BBC is it has been blaming Israel alone for the humanitarian aid breakdown rather than acknowledging any misconduct from Hamas, other Palestinians on the ground or the NGO’s. It’s important not to forget, the blockade is being enforced by Israel. Therefore the humanitarian consequence inflicted on every individual in Gaza, not just Hamas is caused by Israel.

The most concerning leaked document came from the Israeli government, going back to the early days of the current conflict. Dated October 13, 2023, it pertains to their wider ambitions for Gaza, the aim to create a “buffer zone” while expelling all Arabs from the region. This active mass displacement and kill campaign, recorded on film with coutless witnesses across the world, could not be possible if not for the support of Western allies.

With more effective censorship and stricter surveillance laws possible in the future, it may be harder for whistleblowers and leakers to bring this evidence before our very eyes. But we know from Gaza that even with our eyes open, the greatest shame can happen in plain sight.