Senator brushes off ‘hypothetical’ Netanyahu arrest warrant question

[Pelican Press 0]

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Senator brushes off ‘hypothetical’ Netanyahu arrest warrant question

Whether or not Australia would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in line with an international warrant remains unclear after a fiery exchange between senior government and opposition senators.

The International Criminal Court, of which Australia is a member, issued an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant in November.

The court accused them of war crimes, including “starvation as a method of warfare”, in relation to the paused war in Gaza.

The Albanese government has not explicitly said if it would comply with the warrant, but has not ruled it out either.

Camera IconWhether or not Australia would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in line with an international warrant remains unclear. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia

Opposition senator Michaelia Cash on Tuesday put the question to Albanese government minister Don Farrell during a senate estimates hearing.

“Is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcome on *********** soil?” Senator Cash asked.

Senator Farrell, who was representing the Attorney-General, brushed the query off as a “hypothetical”.

“To the best of my knowledge, we’ve not had any request from Mr Netanyahu to come to Australia,” he said.

“So it’s something of a hypothetical question.”

But Senator Cash pressed on, shooting back that “perhaps … the reason we haven’t had a request from Prime Minister Netanyahu to come to Australia is because your government … has failed to rule out whether Mr Netanyahu would be arrested”.

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“The Coalition has a very clear position on this – Mr Netanyahu is welcome in Australia and he will not be arrested,” she said.

“Will Prime Minister Netanyahu be arrested if he sets in Australia under this government, as requested by an International Criminal Court?”

Pointing to Australia’s “longstanding practices”, Senator Farrell said the Albanese government, like Coalition governments before it, “respects the independence of the ICC and its important role in upholding international law”.

He again dismissed the question as “hypothetical”, refusing to budge.

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The ICC only has jurisdictional powers in countries that are party to it, and even then, enforcement is notoriously tricky.

Australia became a party in the early 2000s, during the Howard government.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has previously signalled Australia would comply with the court’s request.

Senator Cash noted that the US has ruled out arresting Mr Netanyahu.

Though, the US is not a member of the ICC, and has a bipartisan opposition to it on the grounds that it undermines sovereignty.

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