Wednesday
Sep302009
Israel: Defense Minister Barak Escapes British Arrest for War Crimes
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 9:05
Israel: US Urges Investigation of War Crimes Allegations
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A bit of a tricky consideration for Anglo-Israeli talks: British lawyers for 16 Palestinians are seeking an international arrest warrant for Israel's defence minister.
Still, Ehud Barak, followed by reporters and demonstrators, met British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Minister David Miliband at the Labour Party conference in Brighton.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJFuRb-qdX4[/youtube]
Amidst the Goldstone Report's conclusion that Israel had been responsible for war crimes during its offensive in Gaza, solicitors asked a district judge at the City of Westminster Magistrates Court to issue a warrant for Barak's arrest under the 1988 Criminal Justice Act, alleging that Barak had committed offences against the 1957 Geneva Conventions.
The Israeli Ministry of Defense responded that Barak enjoyed diplomatic immunity "due to his being a minister in the government" (although media reports said Barak had been warned about the impending legal action and urged to leave the UK for France by Israeli officials).
The Guardian reports that, despite the official Israeli statement, lawyers from two London law firms believe the warrant that the International Criminal Court issued in May 2008 for the arrest of Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan accused of committing war crimes in Darfur, offers a precedent. However, the British court rejected the appeal, accepting the arguments of the British Foreign Office that Barak was a state guest and not subject to such lawsuits.
Freed from the prospect of a jail term, Barak praised Israel's offensive strategy:
Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis
A bit of a tricky consideration for Anglo-Israeli talks: British lawyers for 16 Palestinians are seeking an international arrest warrant for Israel's defence minister.
Still, Ehud Barak, followed by reporters and demonstrators, met British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Minister David Miliband at the Labour Party conference in Brighton.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJFuRb-qdX4[/youtube]
Amidst the Goldstone Report's conclusion that Israel had been responsible for war crimes during its offensive in Gaza, solicitors asked a district judge at the City of Westminster Magistrates Court to issue a warrant for Barak's arrest under the 1988 Criminal Justice Act, alleging that Barak had committed offences against the 1957 Geneva Conventions.
The Israeli Ministry of Defense responded that Barak enjoyed diplomatic immunity "due to his being a minister in the government" (although media reports said Barak had been warned about the impending legal action and urged to leave the UK for France by Israeli officials).
The Guardian reports that, despite the official Israeli statement, lawyers from two London law firms believe the warrant that the International Criminal Court issued in May 2008 for the arrest of Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan accused of committing war crimes in Darfur, offers a precedent. However, the British court rejected the appeal, accepting the arguments of the British Foreign Office that Barak was a state guest and not subject to such lawsuits.
Freed from the prospect of a jail term, Barak praised Israel's offensive strategy:
We do not intend to let terror win.. We will not apologize in any way for our just struggle against terrorism. We will do everything possible so that the representatives of Israel, security officials and soldiers of the IDF will continue to freely travel the world. The theater of the absurd whereby those who defend their citizens need to be on the defensive has to end. Otherwise, the world is likely not only to give a prize to terrorism, but to encourage it.