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LONDON: The Australian government has been criticized by opposition politicians and human rights experts for continuing to export components to Israel used to make weapons.

The Australian Greens condemned the Labor government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, with its foreign affairs spokesperson David Shoebridge stating: “The Australian public knows that the Albanese government is permitting the export of armored steel, F-35 weapons parts and other critical materials to Israel and wants it to stop.”

Shoebridge added: “Two years of hollow talking points from the Albanese government aren’t washing with the public anymore as we watch a genocide in real time.”

It comes after the country’s Defense Minister Richard Marles said Australia did not send weapons to Israel but would continue to manufacture and export parts for the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet, which is used by the Israeli military.

“We’re an F-35 country and we have been that for a couple of decades,” Marles said.

“That is a multi-lateral arrangement with supply chains that are organized by Lockheed Martin in the United States and have multiple suppliers in respect of all of those supply chains.”

He was speaking after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz took the unprecedented step of stopping exports of military equipment to Israel after an announcement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel would expand operations in Gaza.

Marles said there had been “misinformation” about Australia’s arms exports to Israel, adding there was “no step” the country could take that would have any material impact on the war.

But Shoebridge said: “Australia is a key part of the F-35 fighter jet program. We are the only place in the world that makes parts like the bomb bay doors (mechanism), and we operate as one of the few regional distribution hubs.”

He added that if Australia refused to export F-35 components, it would hinder Israel’s ability to operate in Gaza. “The fact Albanese is choosing not to do that makes us complicit (in genocide),” Shoebridge said.

Donald Rothwell, professor of international law at the Australian National University, told The Guardian that the complexity of manufacturing supply chains meant that parts made for civilian use and then exported could be appropriated for weapons, making export bans difficult.

“The clearer position that Australia could take is that if it diplomatically, legally and politically objects to Israel’s occupation of Gaza, then all exports could be suspended for the time being. That would be the clearest way of ensuring that no Australian exports contribute to the Israeli military effort in Gaza,” he said.

In November, The Guardian reported that at least 16 Australian export permits to Israel for components used in arms manufacturing had lapsed or been amended. A spokesperson for the Australian government said all had been approved prior to Oct. 7, 2023.

In April, ABC found that an Australian-built counter-drone system was being tested by the Israeli military.

Albanese has previously stated that Australia has an appropriate set of sanctions in place against several Israeli government figures owing to their actions in relation to the war in Gaza.

“What we need to do here is to have very clear statements and actions by the Australian government that make a difference, rather than respond to a slogan on a protest,” Albanese said during a visit to New Zealand.

On Sunday, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong signed a joint statement with her German, Italian, New Zealand and UK counterparts warning that Israel’s plan to expand operations in Gaza risked breaking international law.