Australia Foreign Minister Uses Magnitsky Laws to Sanction Israelis

Serious allegations have been made against a group of Israeli youths in the West Bank, resulting in Australia’s foreign minister levelling Magnitsky-style financial sanctions and travel bans against them. It is a long way from the Middle East to the office of Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and serious questions have been raised around the MP’s decision to become involved in a democratic ally’s legal processes. Ms. Wong announced the sanctions on July 25, alleging the youths had committed a number of serious criminal acts, including beatings, sexual assault, torture, injury, and, in some cases, death. However, the peak Australian Jewish body, the Australian Jewish Association (AJA), says if the Israeli youths did commit such acts, then Israel had a judicial system for handling such cases and any offenders would be properly dealt with under the law....