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Australia has defended the independence of the top international court after it issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister, former defence minister and a Hamas commander.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) found there were reasonable grounds that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant bore criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes.
This includes allegations of using starvation as a method of warfare and directing attacks against civilians in Gaza.
The warrants are not a finding of guilt.
The ICC rejected Israel’s challenge that it didn’t have jurisdiction over the matter.
Australia respects the independence of the ICC and its “important role in upholding international law”, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.
“We have been clear that all parties to the conflict must comply with international humanitarian law,” she said in a statement on X.
Senator Wong reiterated calls for civilians to be protected, hostages to be released, aid workers to be protected and for more humanitarian aid to flow.
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said it was troubling that the court had targeted “an elected member of a democracy, of a sovereign nation-state, trying to protect his country from terrorists”.
The ICC ruled it had jurisdiction to investigate the situation in Palestinian territories and that states couldn’t challenge the jurisdiction prior to a warrant being issued, “thus Israel’s challenge is premature”.
Senior coalition figures have repudiated the court’s argument it has jurisdiction, arguing Australia’s position should be in line with the United States, which rejected the ruling.
“They’re supposed to be working with nation states and their legal systems, not seeking to supplant them,” Senator McKenzie said of the ICC.
“We would be looking to obviously stand with the United States on this issue.”
However, the US isn’t an ICC member state – while Australia is – and Washington previously welcomed a warrant issued against Russian President Vladimir Putin for atrocities in Ukraine.
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the European Commission foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell said they would comply with the ruling.
An arrest warrant was also issued for Hamas’ military wing commander Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri for the crimes against humanity of murder, extermination, torture, and rape and other forms of sexual violence.
There were reasonable grounds to believe he was also responsible for the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture, taking hostages, outrages upon personal dignity, and rape and other forms of sexual violence, the court found.
The decision by the independent court showed international humanitarian law needed to be upheld through fair and impartial judicial processes in all circumstances, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said.
“Our collective mind and focus should be on the victims of international crimes in Israel and in the State of Palestine,” he said in a statement after the warrants were issued.
Arrest warrants for the leader of Hamas in Gaza and the former head of its political bureau were withdrawn following confirmation of their deaths.
The official death toll in Gaza has eclipsed 44,000, according to the local health ministry, with tens of thousands more missing or believed to be buried under rubble.
Israel’s war in Gaza was sparked by listed terror group Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023 that killed 1200 people and resulted in 250 hostages being taken, according to Israel’s tallies.
Almost 100 hostages are still missing, with 35 believed to be dead.
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