The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN), alongside Amnesty International Australia, Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (AMAN) and other civil society organisations, have formally referred a major legal submission to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), calling for investigations into alleged international crimes committed in Gaza and the potential involvement of Australian dual nationals in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The referral is backed by a substantial evidentiary dossier prepared by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), bringing together legal analysis, witness testimony and direct evidence gathered from survivors, journalists, humanitarian workers and medical professionals who have been present in Gaza.
According to the submission, ICJP collected more than 120 witness statements from people inside Gaza after 7 October 2023, including testimony from doctors describing attacks on hospitals, the blocking of humanitarian aid, starvation conditions and the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system under siege.
The submission details allegations relating to indiscriminate attacks on people, attacks on hospitals and refugee camps, obstruction of humanitarian relief, starvation as a method of warfare and the wilful infliction of great suffering on Gaza’s population.
The referral names senior Israeli political and military figures whose conduct should be investigated, including Benjamin Netanyahu, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, Ron Dermer, Daniel Hagari, Bezalel Smotrich, Ghassan Alian, Herzi Halevi and Eylon Levy.
However, the organisations say a critical Australian dimension of the referral is the request for the AFP to also investigate any Australian dual nationals who may have participated in Israeli military operations in Gaza, including whether any conduct may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide under Australian law.
The organisations said the referral comes amid growing concern from Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities that Australian institutions are applying fundamentally different standards of scrutiny, accountability and protection when Palestinians are the victims.
They stressed the referral is not calling for special powers or extraordinary legal measures, but for existing Australian war crimes legislation to be applied consistently.
Under Division 268 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), Australia already has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, including where alleged conduct occurred overseas.
The legal annex accompanying the referral also outlines Australia’s obligations as a State Party to the Rome Statute and notes that the International Criminal Court has already issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.
The submission also highlights that countries including Germany, France, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands have already pursued international crimes investigations under universal jurisdiction frameworks.
The organisations are calling on the AFP to:
- commence a full investigation into the allegations raised in the submission;
- investigate any Australian dual nationals alleged to have participated in hostilities in Gaza;
- engage directly with Palestinian victims and survivor communities in Australia; and
- Prepare a brief of evidence for referral to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Quote from Katie Shammas, APAN Executive Officer
“Palestinians have spent over two years documenting mass death, starvation, destruction and the erasure of entire families in Gaza. Now we see more evidence that is extensive, deeply disturbing and impossible to ignore. The question continues to be – what will it take for Australian authorities to engage with that evidence seriously and independently and act in a way that is required of them under international law.
Palestinian victims and survivors deserve the same access to justice afforded to victims of atrocities anywhere else in the world. There cannot be one standard for some conflicts and another for a genocide in Gaza.”
Quote from Mohamed Duar, Amnesty International Australia, Occupied Palestinian Territory Spokesperson
“Any Australian who has committed war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide must be held to account and face justice.
“The international rules-based order must be respected and upheld, and the Australian Government must honour its obligations to bring accountability for perpetrators of these grave crimes. The impunity must come to an end.”