Israel said to fear war crimes charges

[tocqueville]

By MATTI FRIEDMAN, Associated Press Writer
27 minutes ago

JERUSALEM - Three weeks after a cease-fire ended Israel's monthlong war against Hezbollah guerrillas, Israel is increasingly concerned that government officials and army officers traveling abroad could face war crimes charges, a Foreign Ministry official said Monday.

A special legal team is preparing to provide protection for officers and officials involved in the 34-day conflict in Lebanon, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.

More than 850 Lebanese were killed during the conflict, most of them civilians. The human rights group Amnesty International has accused Israel of war crimes, including indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on civilian targets.

Israel has said it acted legally and accused Hezbollah of hiding among civilians in Lebanon and deliberately targeting Israeli civilians in rocket attacks. The fighting left 159 Israelis dead, including 39 civilians hit by Hezbollah rockets in Israel's northern cities. The Amnesty report also criticized Hezbollah's attacks on civilians.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_war_crimes

[Kagemusha]

1. They've gotta be kidding.

Can you just imagine the howls of anti-semitism THAT would bring? Please...

[IndianaGreen]

2. Hey! Call Henry Kissinger, he can give Israel a few pointers

as to how to avoid prosecution for war crimes.

[Tom Joad]

3. There is already one initiated for Israel's last aggression in Lebanon.

in fact, the massacre at Qana ten years ago(Israel just did the sequel) is a subject of such litigation.
See Palestine Human Rights Litigation Project
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?list=type&type=160

The Palestine Human Rights Litigation Project (PHRLP) is presently being incubated at the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. The project aims to inform and educate the public both about how legal acion can help to bring about justice and human rights, and about what constitutes international law and human rights. The US Campaign is excited to be incubating this project for two years, providing advice and support as requested. During its incubation the Legal Advocate, Noura Erakat, will work with an Advisory Team of legal practitioners and scholars to develop the role, function, and structure of the Litigation Project. At the end of two years, the hope is that the Project will be institutionalized within an existing advocacy organization where it can continue to develop and begin to function.

[mike_c]

4. defending war criminals rather than prosecuting them....

eom

[bmcatt]

5. Quoting Sting...

and speaking as a Jew myself (by heritage if not current practice)...

If we seek solace in the prisons of the distant past
Security in human systems we're told will always always last
Emotions are the sail and blind faith is the mast
Without a breath of real freedom we're getting nowhere fast

If God is dead and an actor plays his part
His words of fear will find their way to a place in your heart
Without the voice of reason every faith is its own curse
Without freedom from the past things can only get worse

Sooner or later just like the world first day
Sooner or later we learn to throw the past away
Sooner or later just like the world first day
Sooner or later we learn to throw the past away
Sooner or later we learn to throw the past away

History will teach us nothing
History will teach us nothing

Our written history is a catalogue of crime
The sordid and the powerful, the architects of time
The mother of invention, the oppression of the mild
The constant fear of scarcity, aggression as its child

Sooner or later
Sooner or later
Sooner or later
Sooner or later

Convince an enemy, convince him that he's wrong
Is to win a bloodless battle where victory is long
A simple act of faith
In reason over might
To blow up his children will only prove him right
History will teach us nothing

Sooner or later the world first day
Sooner or later we learn to throw the past away
Sooner or later the world first day
Sooner or later we learn to throw the past away
Sooner or later we learn to throw the past away

History will teach us nothing
History will teach us nothing

Know you human rights
Be what you come here for
Know your human rights
Be what you come here for
Know your human rights
Be what you come here for
Know your human rights
Be what you come here for

[bemildred]

6. Fearing lawsuits, Israel warns brass: no ‘crushing’, no ‘wiping out’

JERUSALEM — Israel has warned its civil servants and military officers to watch what they say about the Lebanese and Palestinian conflicts, fearing tough talk could invite war crimes lawsuits, political sources said yesterday. They said the Foreign Ministry has set up a legal team to counter efforts by foreign groups to arrange the prosecution abroad of Israelis involved in the attacks in Lebanon and crackdowns on the Palestinian protests.

A ministry memorandum issued to Israel's military and other government agencies urges officials to avoid belligerent remarks that could potentially be used to back up allegations they were complicit in excessive use of force in Lebanon or the Gaza Strip."The type of language now considered off-limits includes 'crushing' the enemy, and 'cleansing', 'levelling', or 'wiping out' suspected enemy emplacements," a political source who saw the memo said. The source quoted the memo as censuring one official who called for Israel to respond to Hizbullah rocket strikes against the strategic port city of Haifa during the 34-day war by ‘getting rid of a village in Lebanon.’

The Foreign and Justice ministries declined comment. According to the memo, numerous war crimes lawsuits against Israeli officials were being prepared. It cited venues such as France, Belgium, Morocco and Britain, but no details were available. Israel's top brass have been on high alert since a former general who had commanded forces in Gaza was almost detained after flying out for a London holiday last year. Tipped off that a pro-Palestinian group had secured a warrant for his arrest, the ex-general remained aboard his plane and returned to Israel.

Three Moroccan lawyers said last month they were suing Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz over the recent offensives in Lebanon and Gaza. Some 1,200 Lebanese and 200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died in operations launched after three Israeli soldiers were abducted in two deadly border raids. A Danish opposition lawmaker sought to have Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni detained when she visited Copenhagen last week. Danish police took no action and prosecutors declined to investigate Livni, noting her diplomatic immunity.

Oman Observer