[ad_1]
Labor minister Ed Husic has accused the Coalition of indifference to the mounting death toll in Gaza, and said Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s criticism of the International Criminal Court was “staggering”.
On Tuesday, Mr Dutton said he was “open” to Australia cutting ties with the court after its prosecutor sought arrest warrants for leaders of Israel at the same time as leaders of Hamas.
Mr Dutton said it was “a terrible decision” and an “anti-Semitic stance” to pursue Israeli leaders and that Australia should “put pressure” on the court to reverse its decision.
“Then I think, the next steps, in relation to what you would take beyond that, I’m very open to [cutting ties]. I don’t rule it out,” he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese refused to comment on the court’s decision on Monday. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Treasurer Jim Chalmers both said it was a matter for the ICC.
Both emphasised there was “no moral equivalence” between the actions of Hamas on October 7 and Israel’s actions subsequent to that.
But science minister Ed Husic, who has consistently made stronger criticisms of Israel than his ministerial colleagues, told the ABC’s RN Breakfast on Wednesday the Coalition should not have directly criticised the ICC.
“The Coalition talks big about law and order and then wants to pick what law and order it will follow,” he said.
“It’s staggering that you can have a mainstream political party determine on the basis of something that is uncomfortable for them [that they] would then turn their back on a court of law.
“The PM has said the courts should be able to go about their business without political interference and in terms of [the] pressure you’ve seen out of the Coalition, [the ICC] shouldn’t have to contend with that whatsoever.”
Echoing the words of his colleagues, Mr Husic said “there shouldn’t be any … moral equivalence” between Israel and Hamas, but also denied that the ICC chief prosecutor’s actions amounted to an equivalence.
“People are being charged on the basis of individual action. There is no moral equivalence between the state of Israel and a terrorist organisation in Hamas.
“But certainly people have been concerned, following Hamas’s deadly actions, about the way in which 35,000 Palestinians have been killed and the way the campaign has been carried out by the Israeli government.”
Dutton demands Albanese take a stance
ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim AA Khan has sought five arrest warrants. Three are for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri and Ismail Haniyeh for alleged crimes on and after October 7, 2023
Two are for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, for alleged crimes on and after October 8.
The ICC has not yet made a decision on whether to approve the arrest warrants. US President Joe Biden called the decision to charge Israeli leaders “outrageous”.
The US and Israel are not parties to the court, but Australia is.
Mr Dutton said Mr Albanese “got it wrong” when he declined to comment.
“I think [it] was just off the cuff … I don’t know how the prime minister can say that he’s not interested in commenting on matters before the courts … [He] should stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Joe Biden and the leaders of others countries around the world, who have made the right call here.”
Mr Husic said Mr Dutton’s contemplation of boycotting the court was “not the wisest thing to do”.
“What we need to get to is a situation where people aren’t being killed …I’ve never heard out of the Coalition any signalling of concern about 35,000 people being killed. If it has been expressed, it’s been lukewarm and there’s been no [urging] from them that international humanitarian law should be observed.”
“I think it’s incredible that a mainstream political party could be like that.”
