Australia must investigate our citizens fighting in the IDF for war crimes

As Israel's relentless assault on Gaza has displaced 1.9 million people, the Australian government continues to fall short in offering adequate support to civilians fleeing the violence, including Palestinian refugees arriving on our shores. The Opposition Leader has called for an outright ban on Gazan refugees entering Australia, resorting to xenophobic and Islamophobic fearmongering by portraying all Palestinians as national security threats.

But what of IDF soldiers freely returning to Australia? Australians travelling overseas to fight for an occupying force accused of war crimes and currently being investigated for genocide by the highest international court, should not be able to return to Australia without being thoroughly investigated.

Reported estimates state that there could be up to 1,000 Australian citizens currently serving in the IDF or are reservists, some being members of active combat units. Upon commencing its latest military assault in 2023, Israel issued an order for 360,000 IDF reservists across the globe to join its campaign in Gaza.

While innocent Gazan families — mothers, fathers, children, and the elderly — are treated as security threats, subjected to exhaustive background checks, and face last-minute visa cancellations, Israeli-Australians are free to engage in active combat and are welcomed back to mingle in Australian society. IDF soldiers and reservists are even celebrated, invited to speaking engagements and to share their experiences with the public, all while the IDF indiscriminately murders, starves and displaces innocent civilians. This should alarm us all.

The ICV calls upon the government to fulfill Australia's international law obligations to ensure that no Australians are complicit in war crimes or genocide, and to punish those who are. We call on the AFP to fulfill its responsibility to ensure that any credible allegations of mass atrocity crimes committed by Australian citizens abroad are investigated and prosecuted and ensure that perpetrators of such crimes do not walk freely among us.