Labor party members in Australia have expressed criticism toward the federal government for not aligning with the UK, Canada, and France in banning trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank. They have urged Foreign Minister Penny Wong to take a stronger stance in response to violence against Palestinians. The Labor Friends of Palestine, a campaign group within the party, wrote to Wong on Wednesday, urging Australia to join a coordinated international approach. This aligns with changes to the party's national platform, adopted in July, which opposes the annexation of Palestinian territory and calls for an end to illegal settlement activity and the occupation. The group emphasized the need for careful policy design, advocating for targeted trade restrictions that protect Palestinian workers and avoid unintended consequences. Wong confirmed this week that Australia is preparing another round of sanctions against Israel, but has not joined the UK in banning trade with Israeli settlements. The UK's foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, described Israel's control of the West Bank as unlawful and stated that "ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists" is occurring. Labor's national platform, used to guide policy development, calls on the government to end any support for illegal settlement activity and to implement further sanctions as needed. The Labor Friends of Palestine argued that Australia has an opportunity to act on these commitments, having previously joined the UK, Canada, France, Norway, and others in coordinated sanctions against extremist settlers. The UK has announced plans to ban goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories, as well as new restrictions on arms licenses and exports. However, implementing these measures could take six to nine months. While Australia has acted in concert with international partners in the past, Wong said this week that the country is not currently pushing for a broad ban on goods from Israeli settlements. She denied claims by the Greens that Australia is trying to placate the Israeli government, stating that Prime Minister Netanyahu's government has expressed displeasure at the Albanese government's actions. Wong also avoided directly confirming whether she agrees with Miliband's statement about ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, instead stating that Australia has sanctioned Israeli extremists for their violence against Palestinian communities. Wong has also been working with the family of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom, who was killed in a Gaza strike, on a response to the Israeli Defense Forces' decision not to investigate the incident.