Greens Condemn Australian Government’s Passivity After IDF Officer Defends Deadly Gaza Aid Convoy Attack

The Greens have criticized inflammatory remarks made by the former Israel Defense Forces officer who authorized the strike that killed Zomi Frankcom, accusing the Albanese government of weakness for failing to halt military exports and impose new sanctions.

Australian aid worker Frankcom and six of her colleagues were killed in 2024 while transporting food to the people of Gaza. Former IDF reserve colonel Nochi Mendel stated he would do “exactly the same thing” again and claimed that those killed in the World Central Kitchen (WCK) humanitarian convoy in Gaza were “not innocent.”

These statements have been condemned as “utterly disgraceful” by Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, and as an “outrageous smear” by WCK’s humanitarian chief.

However, the Greens’ defence spokesperson, David Shoebridge, argued that the government’s response was insufficient given Mendel’s “reprehensible” statements. He asserted that the comments “reflect the rhetoric and policy of the Israeli government, where collective punishment of aid workers, doctors and innocent civilians is occurring daily.”

“I do not care what minister Wong’s personal feelings are, I don’t care about her outrage, I care about the actions taken as foreign minister,” Shoebridge told Guardian Australia.

“Anyone can condemn the actions of the Israeli military, but only the government can impose the sanctions and material responses needed. Until they do, their words are distractions.”

He called for a formal reprimand of members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and for the immediate cessation of the sale of F-35 fighter jet parts.

José Andrés, the WCK founder, stated that Mendel had smeared Frankcom and her colleagues.

“Now, one of the officers involved says he isn’t sorry for what happened. He claimed we are not a neutral organisation,” he said in a statement published online this week.

“Really? Let me be very clear, to him and to the whole world. We are humanitarians. We are friends of humanity. We believe that food is a universal human right.”

Mendel, then the chief of staff of the Nahal brigade, stated he gave the order to attack a humanitarian convoy delivering hundreds of tonnes of food to Gaza on the night of 1 April 2024.

Three vehicles in the convoy were attacked along Gaza’s coast road in successive drone strikes, each separated by approximately two minutes.

One vehicle after another was bombed, as survivors from the initial strikes ran to the untouched cars seeking sanctuary.

An IDF investigation found the attack to be a grave mistake, identifying specific errors made by a handful of officers, particularly Mendel, who was subsequently removed from his position. The victims were also blamed for hiring armed guards to protect the food aid convoy and allegedly “deviating” from their agreed route.

Last month, Israel’s advocate general declined to press charges against anyone for the deaths, stating there was “no reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct.”

Mendel has given interviews to the ABC and the Guardian asserting he felt no regret over the attacks. He told the Guardian he was following IDF protocol and that the humanitarians were marked as targets under an Israeli military practice of establishing guilt by association.

Mendel was referring to a general policy of haflala, “incrimination,” which grants commanders in the field wide discretion to designate an individual a “terrorist,” including those “incriminated” by association.

Mendel told the Guardian that while he did not intend to kill aid workers, those killed “were not innocent because they were connected to Hamas.”

He provided no evidence to support this assertion. Investigations conducted by the IDF itself and the former head of the Australian military found no indication of any connection between Hamas and World Central Kitchen.

Mendel stated he fought in the war in Gaza “to defeat Hamas,” and dismissed the severity of killing seven humanitarians.

“If such an event came before me again, I would do exactly the same thing,” he told the Guardian.

“I think it’s an idiotic side event. It really isn’t a serious event.”

Wong, asked about Mendel’s earlier comments expressing no remorse over the strikes, said his statements were extremely distressing for Frankcom’s family.

“I thought those comments were disgraceful, utterly disgraceful,” she told the ABC. “I do not even want to go into some of the detail of them because I do not want to give them any credence.”

Wong stated that the Australian government was dissatisfied with Israel’s decision not to lay criminal charges against those responsible and would continue to “press for justice.”

“We do want to see full accountability for the deaths of Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues. They were humanitarian workers delivering aid, and they are protected under the Geneva conventions.”

Restaurateur Andrés, whose charity has provided more than 600 million meals to people affected by natural disasters, climate emergencies, and conflict worldwide, stated that the deaths of humanitarian workers merely attempting to feed hungry people were inexcusable.

“Enough with the outrageous smears. Enough with excuses. Enough with the shifting of blame.

From the start, we have demanded truth, truth and justice for our friends and their families. We want an independent investigation with all the video and audio released in public so the world can know the truth, because we continue to grieve for our friends. We will never forget them or stop fighting for them.”

Frankcom’s family issued a statement following Israel’s decision not to press charges, saying they were “deeply disappointed” by the outcome.

“The families of the victims deserve transparency and an independent judicial assessment of the criminal responsibility for the international humanitarian law violations that took place on that day,” they stated.

Shoebridge said on Sunday that he could not fathom the pain and distress facing the Frankcom family.

“I think most people are in shock at the inaction of the Labor government when an Australian has been murdered and the killers walk free. At some point, the Albanese government is going to have to get their head out of the sand and start taking action.”

Source link