Victoria will not renew defence memorandum of understanding with Israel

A secretive memorandum of understanding between the Victorian government and the Israeli defence force will not be renewed.

Guardian Australia has confirmed the MoU between the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions and the international defence cooperation directorate of the Israel defence ministry, which was signed on 7 December 2022, will lapse when it expires next month.

“The purpose of the MoU was to identify potential opportunities for collaboration on projects that could deliver significant advanced manufacturing capabilities, highly skilled jobs and economic benefits for Victoria,” a government spokesperson said.

“Since it was signed, no joint projects were entered into under the MoU and it will not be renewed.”

The MoU was signed before the Israel-Gaza war but has come under increased scrutiny since the conflict began, along with a partnership between the government and weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems.

The Greens have repeatedly used question time to grill the government on the MoU’s contents and behind the scenes, Labor MPs have been urging the premier, Jacinta Allan, not to renew it.

The same MPs were rankled last week when Allan criticised pro-Palestinian protesters for planning a demonstration outside Myer’s Christmas windows. She said the demonstration would not help bring an end to the conflict but instead sought to divide Victorians.

The Victorian Greens leader, Ellen Sandell, said public pressure had worked.

“Labor are clearly feeling the pressure, they know that Victorians are appalled,” she said, as she called for the government to also “rip up” its partnership with Elbit Systems.

Nasser Mashni, president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, also welcomed the decision, describing it as an “important step toward Victoria adopting a more principled approach”.

“Consistently, the Victorian government must now cancel any agreements and partnerships with Elbit Systems,” he said.

The full text of the MoU has not been made public but documents from the Victorian government, released under freedom of information laws, show its purpose was to foster trade relations and “support greater collaboration on defence industry objectives”.

However, the government has stressed it was “not supplying arms or weapons to Israel” and the MoU was not legally binding.

The decision to let it expire comes after the federal government has also amended or lapsed at least 16 defence-related export permits to Israel in recent weeks, amid a review of all 66 permits approved prior to the conflict.

The full review is expected to conclude in the coming months.

Rawan Arraf, the executive director of the Australian Centre for International Justice, welcomed the state’s decision not to renew the MoU. She described the relationship between the Victorian government and Israel’s defence ministry as “untenable, legally and ethically”.

Arraf also urged the federal government to reconsider its own “two-way military and defence ties” with Israel.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry – the peak national body representing the Australian Jewish community – declined to comment.

Sarah Schwartz, co-executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, welcomed the “change in language” by both the federal and Victorian governments in recent weeks.

Almost 44,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began 13 months ago, according to the health ministry in Gaza. The war is in response to the 7 October attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 people were taken hostage.

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