Arrest Warrant Against Netanyahu Strengthens the Genocide Claim Against His Australian Adviser

Lawyers representing Mark Regev, former senior adviser to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, are to put it to the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria on 11 December 2024 that their client can’t be prosecuted over advocating genocide, as part of a private prosecution brought by Krautungalung elder Uncle Robbie Thorpe, as, at the time of the alleged offending, he was working for Israel.

Since last October, global attempts to raise a prosecution against a public figure in relation to the genocide in Gaza have failed due to domestic legal limitations.

The case Thorpe filed against Regev back in April, however, resulted in the court issuing a 14 August 2024 charge sheet, which has since been served upon the Israeli citizen, who was born in Australia and continues to be a dual citizen.

Having recognised the potential this case has to result in an Israeli official being found guilty of genocide at a time when Israel continues to deny one is underway in Gaza, Tel Aviv intervened on behalf of Regev during the 9 October first mention of the case and hired some formidable local lawyers in an effort to see it dropped, prior to any potential conviction opening up the floodgates.

And in the wake of the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant charging Netanyahu with a litany of war crimes and crimes against humanity, Uncle Robbie’s lawyer Daniel Taylor stresses that this development adds considerable more urgency to the case against Regev, especially as he was an advisor to the Israeli PM at the time of his then boss’ alleged offending.

The time has come on genocide

“We’re going to see whether Australia is going to do its job in regard to the Genocide Convention. They’re bound by the law against genocide,” Uncle Robbie told Sydney Criminal Lawyers.

“Regev obviously breached the Act in advocating genocide and what makes this important is that he is an Australian citizen doing this. The time has come on all of this sort of business.”

“At the end of the day, Australia and Israel are running out of places to hide,” Thorpe continued. “They’ve lined up a fairly substantial legal defence here. And I’m glad they’re putting up a fight because it engages the Genocide Convention in this country, which is another good thing because you rarely hear about it.”

Thorpe has been running genocide cases since the 1990s. Regev stands charged with advocating genocide, contrary to section 80.2D of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), which is a crime that carries up to 7 years prison time.

Internationally, this offence was established via the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, of which this nation ratified in 1949.

The federal government also enacted the five main offences comprising the crime of genocide that are contained in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court into domestic law in mid-2002, under division 268 of the Criminal Code. And similar to the offence of advocating genocide, the five genocide crimes contained in sections 268.3 through to 268.7, all carry universal jurisdiction.

This means that the local courts can prosecute any local or foreign national in regard to these crimes when committed anywhere on the planet.

Yet, the division 268 genocide offences are subject to a legal mechanism known as the attorney general’s fiat, which means the nation’s chief lawmaker must approve such a case before it can go ahead, whereas no such approval is required to prosecute the crime of advocating for genocide.

“Genocide was not even considered a crime that long ago. Now, we’ve got cases involving genocide,” Uncle Robbie underscored.

“It won’t be long before the eyes of the world turn on Australia: it’s the same type of history as Palestine. It is an illegal occupation and there has been genocidal oppression going on for 254 years.”

Facilitating mass murder

In regard to why the ICC issuing the criminal warrant against the Israeli PM lends more weight to the local case, lawyer Daniel Taylor explains that “our guy, Regev, is the brains behind Netanyahu, at least in the public arena.”

“You don’t get to be the senior advisor and spokesperson for the prime minister over the six months as a genocide is being implemented and set up, without being part of the same conduct,” the legal professional made clear.

The August charge sheet relating to the Australian Israeli diplomat lists thirteen points that constitute Regev having partaken in the crime of advocating genocide over the period from the 7th of October 2023 to the 15th of April 2024, which was when he was acting as senior advisor to Netanyahu.

Regev’s behaviour includes having spoken to ABC Radio National on 10 October 2023, in which the Australian Israeli spoke in support of the imposition of a complete siege upon the Gaza Strip, which would includes the cutting of water, food, fuel and power into the walled-in region.

As Taylor explained, the offence of advocating genocide wasn’t inserted into Australian federal law until November 2016, via counterterrorism legislation moved by then Turnbull government attorney general George Brandis. And it was implemented to lower the bar on potentially prosecuting genocide in response to Islamic jihadists, although this aim appears completely misguided at present.

According to the lawyer, Regev’s defence team is going to argue that he is immune from prosecution due to the provisions of the Foreign States Immunities Act 1985 (Cth), which provides exemption to foreign states and their agencies from the jurisdiction of the courts of other countries, as the Australian-born man was acting in the capacity of an employee of an Israeli state agency at the time.

Crime scene Australia

“Regev is an Australian citizen and he’s advocating for genocide,” Uncle Robbie continued. “It is really offensive and insulting for Aboriginal people to have an Australian citizen talking about starving people, lying and inciting people to join up with the IDF and commit these crimes on the other side of the world.”

Thorpe is currently running three genocide prosecutions in the Victorian courts. The others are in relation to accusations of genocide laid at the feet of so-called king Charles Windsor III and federal attorney general Mark Dreyfus.

However, the reasons why the Regev case appears to be progressing at a faster pace than the other cases is that the chief lawmaker isn’t able to exercise their fiat and block the case from going ahead, as is possible with the genocide offences that fall under division 268 of the Criminal Code.

Uncle Robbie further explains that the Regev case is engaging the laws against genocide that are on the books in this country in a manner that has not occurred before, and the simple fact that they are being utilised lends likelihood to the fact that eventually one of these cases will get up, whether that’s the current prosecution or another, and that will lead the way to further such prosecutions.

“Genocide is in the global spotlight and people are starting to think about their own backyards, as they see the complicity of Australia in the Palestine genocide,” Thorpe outlined in summing up. “Don’t forget Australia is one of the big supporters of Israel economically and militarily, and we have an obligation to get out of that.”

“Look in your backyard, Australia,” the Krautungalung elder said in ending. “The noose is going to continue to tighten as we go along.”

Uncle Robbie Thorpe’s legal work is all set out on the site Crime Scene Australia