Round table

the law is on the side of the defender

the attacker... must attack!

You forgot to add "in my humble opinion" or a quote from the rules that places the corresponding obligation on the attacker.

P.S. In reality, we have a situation in which both players are acting fully in accordance with the rules, but the battle cannot be completed. I believe that such a situation can be called a "stalemate" for the same reason as the example with the dwarves and the fly.