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 […]
Read MoreIsrael war: Palestinians adrift after UNRWA aid ban
There is no alternative to the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, its chief insisted, following Israel’s order to ban the organisation that coordinates nearly all aid in war-ravaged Gaza. “There is no plan B,” head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, told reporters in Geneva. Within the UN […]
Read MoreAustralia legally obliged to act on Israel war warrants
Australia would be forced to arrest Israel’s prime minister and former defence minister on charges of war crimes under an international court ruling that’s splitting the global community. 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 […]
Read MoreNetanyahu aide questioned over alleged tampering with 7 October phone records
A top aide of Benjamin Netanyahu has been questioned by police investigating reports of alterations made to official records of phone calls involving the Israeli prime minister on the morning of the 7 October attacks. Israeli media reported that Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, is suspected of changing the recorded time of a conversation […]
Read MoreNetanyahu appoints hardline supporter of Gaza war as US ambassador
Yechiel Leiter, a rightwing publicist and government aide, is also a longtime backer of settlements in the West Bank Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed a hardline supporter of the war in Gaza and longtime backer of settlements in the West Bank as his ambassador to the US as Israel prepares for the incoming administration of […]
Read MoreHow the Human Rights Commission went to war with itself
The Australian Human Rights Commission has been under siege from within and without as it struggles to take a neutral stance on the conflict in Gaza. Six days. That’s how long it took for the Australian Human Rights Commission to make its first statement about Hamas’ October 7 assault on Israel that killed 1200 people […]
Read MoreUS warns against protracted Israeli campaign in Lebanon, pushes for Gaza ceasefire
Doha/Beirut/Paris: The United States does not want a protracted Israeli campaign in Lebanon, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as efforts got under way to hold fresh talks over a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. A month into Israel’s military onslaught against the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, Blinken said he hoped Iran was […]
Read MoreThe death of October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar has left Hamas leaderless and in disarray, raising hopes of an end to the war in Gaza, as Israel warns the terrorist group’s remaining fighters to release their hostages or face the same fate.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Hamas chief’s death marked “the beginning of the end” of the conflict, but warned his country’s mission was not yet complete. As world leaders held their breath at the prospect of a ceasefire, Mr Netanyahu, in a grim video message, offered the terrorists still holding more than 100 […]
Read MoreIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved his six-member war cabinet, an Israeli official has said, in a widely expected move following the departure from government of centrist former general Benny Gantz
The forum was formed after Gantz joined Netanyahu in a national unity government at the start of the Gaza war in October. It also included Gantz’s political partner Gadi Eisenkot and Aryeh Deri, head of the religious party Shas, as observers. David Mencer, spokesperson at the prime minister’s office, told reporters the war cabinet had […]
Read MoreAustralian Border Force questions three people suspected of travelling to join Israeli army
The Australian Border Force has “intervened” at the border to ask further questions of at least three Australians suspected of planning to travel to Israel to serve in the country’s military. The government is also warning Australians who seek to serve with the armed forces of a foreign country “to carefully consider their legal obligations […]
Read More