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 defence 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 Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Australia and other like-minded states face a dilemma.
