Furious protesters have descended on the Israeli embassy in Canberra demanding \u201cjustice\u201d for slain Australian aid worker Lalzawmi \u201cZomi\u201d Frankcom<\/p>\n
The Israeli military said last month it would not pursue criminal charges for those behind the strike that killed Ms Frankcom and six of her World Central Kitchen colleagues in Gaza in 2024.<\/p>\n
The update fell on World Humanitarian Day and came after a lengthy internal investigation found \u201cno reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct\u201d.<\/p>\n
The group of protesters on Tuesday demonstrated outside the embassy, leading chants of \u201cIsrael is a terrorist state\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cZomi was killed in a deliberate targeting by Israel, through which three clearly marked humanitarian vehicles were repeatedly struck, even as survivors attempted to move from one car to another,\u201d pro-Palestine activist Neve O\u2019Connor told her fellow protesters, stirring a chorus of \u201cshame\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cZomi\u2019s life, along with six of her colleagues were tragically taken during this act of barbarity.<\/p>\n
\u201cZomi\u2019s family has described her as brave, beloved, kind, selfless and an outstanding human being.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer life\u2019s work exemplified this, with her last actions being dedicated to working with World Central Kitchen, delivering comfort and food to Palestinian suffering an active genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned the Israeli decision as an \u201coutrage\u201d when it broke and hauled in ambassador Hillel Newman.<\/p>\n
But Ms O\u2019Connor dismissed Senator Wong\u2019s response as \u201cpainfully repetitive and shallow\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese words are not accountability or justice, nor is privately chastising the Israeli ambassador behind closed doors,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cZomi was a tornado of happiness.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer tragic murder is yet another example of the depravity of the apartheid regime of Israel \u2013 a genocidal and barbaric state.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe join Zomi\u2019s family\u2019s call for the Australian government to do better, to be more than a lapdog of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officially, the protesters called for an independent Australian investigation, Mr Newman\u2019s expulsion, the closure of Australia\u2019s embassy in Israel and what they said was the \u201cfull implementation of Australia\u2019s obligations under the Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Newman defended the \u201cthorough investigation\u201d that informed the Israeli military\u2019s decision when he was summoned last month.<\/p>\n
He said at the time that soldiers \u201cgenuinely thought there were Hamas people on the convoy (that) had taken control of the convoy\u201d, reasoning that \u201cthere was no criminal liability\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne has to respect international bodies that work according to law and evidence and come to a conclusion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne cannot judge a conclusion and say it\u2019s (not right) or unjustified just because it doesn\u2019t tally with what I want.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Newman also expressed \u201cdeep sorrow\u201d to Ms Frankcom\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy message to the family is that Israel is full of sorrow and solidarity with the family, but it was not intentional \u2026 there was no intentional attack on the workers, on Zomi,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Wiped out\u2019: Anti-Semitic chants<\/p>\n
One protester approached the Israeli embassy\u2019s gates shouting that the country \u201cshould be wiped out\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cShame on Israel and shame on the agents in this country and shame on the politicians that support this evil,\u201d he yelled to cheers of support.<\/p>\n
Anti-Semtic chants were also prominent at the rally, including \u201cfrom the river to the sea, Palestine will be free\u201d, which has historically meant the elimination of Israel and the expulsion of Jews from the region.<\/p>\n
Other chants included \u201cIsrael is a fascist state\u201d and \u201cIsrael is a rapist state\u201d.<\/p>\n
Among those to speak at the rally was Greens-turned-independent senator Lidia Thorpe.<\/p>\n
An Indigenous parliamentarian, she claimed Israel did not have First Nations\u2019 \u201cconsent to be here\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst peoples of this country do not invite war criminals to our land,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Senator Thorpe went on to say she spotted Israel\u2019s envoy on Monday dining in the Members\u2019 Lounge at Parliament House without an MP or senator present.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he has a free rein in that parliament,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is given the most privileges in that parliament, and it was unsafe for me and my staff to be in the vicinity of someone who\u2019s committing a genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel has rejected claims it committed genocide in the two-year war in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas\u2019 October 7 assault in 2023.<\/p>\n
The Islamist group\u2019s militants tortured and slaughtered their way across southern Israel, killing some 1200 and injuring thousands more.<\/p>\n
Many of the atrocities, which marked the worst loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust, were celebrated by sympathisers online.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s unrelenting response killed tens of thousands, while its chokehold on aid sparked starvation fears and denied civilians desperately needed medical supplies.<\/p>\n
The International Court of Justice has not determined the Israeli action genocidal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Furious protesters have descended on the Israeli embassy in Canberra demanding \u201cjustice\u201d for slain Australian aid worker 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