(MENAFN- Asia Times)
Ever since the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, the Albanese government has consistently said Australia respects Israel's right to defend itself , but how it does so matters.
To an international lawyer, those words are code for simultaneously exercising the right of self-defense and respecting international humanitarian law. In effect, remaining compliant with the laws of war.
Now, with the International Criminal Court's issuing of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Australia and other like-minded states face a dilemma.
In July, Australia, Canada and New Zealand issued a joint statement that said, in part:
Since the arrest warrants were issued last week, Canada, a number of European countries and others have made clear they would arrest Netanyahu if he steps foot in their countries. Will Australia and New Zealand now follow suit?
International courts and the Gaza war
Over the past year, there has been an increasing focus on the legality of Israel's actions in Gaza and its impact on the Palestinian population.
This was first highlighted by the case brought by South Africa in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in late December alleging Israel was responsible for genocide against the people of Gaza.
This was followed by the ICJ's separate advisory opinion in July saying that Israel's continued occupation of the Palestinian territories violated international law and its presence there should end“as rapidly as possible.”
Then, last week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity arising from their roles as political leaders in the prosecution of the Gaza war.
The ICC's prosecutor, Karim Khan, had also been seeking arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders. Two have been killed in recent months, while the third, Mohammed Al-Masri, more commonly known as Mohammed Deif, is also believed to be dead. The ICC nonetheless issued a warrant against him, too.
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