Australia stalling on responding to Israeli military export requests due to war — report

Australia is stalling on processing requests related to military exports to Israel, fearing that either approving or rejecting such motions will draw backlash, Australia’s ABC News reports.

Though the country rarely exports arms to Israel and hasn’t for at least five years, several requests have been made for Australian-made military technology since the ongoing war erupted with Hamas’s October 7 massacre, the report says.

“There appears to be a deliberate ‘go slow’ happening on anything to do with Israel while the war in Gaza continues,” ABC quotes an unnamed Australian defense industry insider as saying. “Nobody in the government wants to be seen to be either approving or rejecting Israeli military sales.”

The report says Foreign Minister Penny Wong is believed to be partly responsible for the delays.