|
British authorities warn Israeli officials of the potential of arrest warrants over alleged war crimes in Gaza
News Desk
The Israeli minister and member of the IDF (Israeli Defence Force) involved in the July 2002 attack in Gaza killing Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh and 14 civilians has heeded the warnings by his foreign ministry and declined to visit London, for fear of arrest by British authorities over potential war crimes. An event organised by the Jewish National Fund or JNF in London next month invited Ya'alon to the event to raise money for Israeli soldiers.
Moshe Ya'alon the former chief of staff of the Israeli Defence Force and member of the ruling Likuud Party has been warned by Israeli government lawyers that he would face potential arrest if he was to land in the UK.
In 2002 Ya'alon famously said to the Israeli national newspaper Haaretz:
"The Palestinian threat harbours cancer-like attributes that have to be severed. There are all kinds of solutions to cancer. Some say it's necessary to amputate organs but at the moment I am applying chemotherapy."
Ya'alon faced arrest in New Zealand on a private fund-raising trip organised by the Jewish National Fund. An Auckland District Court judge issued a warrant for his arrest for alleged war crimes arising from his role in the 2002 assassination of Hamas leader Salah Shahade in Gaza City, in which at least 14 Palestinian civilians were killed, saying that New Zealand had an obligation to uphold the Geneva Convention. The Attorney-General of New Zealand, Michael Cullen, overruled the warrant after advice from the Crown Law office that there was insufficient evidence.
Previously several other Israeli figures including generals and politicians, have been warned that they "would need to consult lawyers before travelling to the UK and Spain in case of more court cases".
Hawkish on his stance over Iran Ya'alon has also called for the assassination of the President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and said in 2008:
"We have to consider killing him. All options must be considered."
photo credit: Moshe Yaalon Israeli Government Press Office image
|
