In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is based in The Hague, in the Netherlands, issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza1.
The Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, includes 124 countries. These countries have a legal obligation to enforce the ICC’s arrest warrants2. Algeria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Namibia, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain and Switzerland have all stated that they would arrest Netanyahu if he sets foot in their country3.
Australia is a member of the ICC and signed the Rome Statute on December 9, 1998, and ratified it on July 1, 2002. Australia’s International Criminal Court Act 2002 establishes mechanisms to facilitate Australia’s compliance with the Rome Statute. This includes provision of investigative assistance and the arrest and surrender (to the ICC) of suspects4.
Each year the Attorney General’s Department must publish, as an appendix to its annual report, a report on the operation of the International Criminal Court Act 2002, the operations of the court and the impact of the court’s operations on the Australian legal system4.
And yet, despite being party to the ICC, at the time of the issuing of the arrest warrants, all Penny Wong could do was to state on Xitter that Australia
“respects the independence of the ICC and its important role in upholding international law” and that the government had been clear in stating “that all parties to the conflict must comply with international humanitarian law”5. However, she did not state that Netanyahu would be arrested if he set foot in Australia.
All she seems to have said in the Senate is that “Australia will act consistently with our obligations under international law and our approach will be informed by international law, not by politics”6.
I am constantly disappointed by the Albanese government in their incrementalism and their gutlessness. Everybody knows what Netanyahu and his government have committed in Gaza, and to hedge your bets by being vague exemplifies that gutlessness.
Sources
- https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/20/hungary-arrest-netanyahu-if-he-visits
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/21/what-are-the-icc-countries-where-netanyahu-and-gallant-may-face-arrest
- https://theconversation.com/many-of-israels-western-supporters-indicate-they-would-arrest-netanyahu-will-australia-and-nz-follow-suit-244500
- https://www.ag.gov.au/international-relations/international-law/support-international-criminal-court
- https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/wong-responds-to-netanyahus-icc-arrest-warrant-as-us-labels-move-outrageous/olo6gf9fh
- https://www.auspublaw.org/blog/2025/01/what-icc-arrest-warrants-tell-us-about-dualism-in-australia
Well said. And in spite of his international criminal status, Netanyahu continues his bloodthirsty campaign, aided by the US warmongers.