When the Goldstone report recommended that signatories to the Geneva Convention arrest and prosecute individuals who set foot in their country and were responsible for human rights and war crimes violations during the Gaza conflict last January, i was hopeful that someone, somewhere, would feel the collar of those involved.
What i didn't expect was Britain to be the one to make an attempt to nab them but the British courts it was who issued an arrest warrant for Israel's former foreign minister and member of the war cabinet during the Gaza offensive earlier this year, Tzipi Livni, over war crimes when she was expected to turn up on our shores at the weekend.
As it was she got wind of it and cancelled but i am immensely proud that it was my country that made a grab for her.
We do have recent history here of attempting to bag the Israeli's accused of war crimes with an attempt to arrest Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak, only foiled because he is a serving minister and was afforded diplomatic immunity while he was here.
In 2005, a retired Israeli general, Doron Almog, returned to Israel after landing in London and refusing to leave his aeroplane because he was tipped off that police were on the tarmac waiting to arrest him.
Other Israeli leaders, including former military chief Moshe Yaalon and ex-Shin Bet security chief Avi Dichter, have cancelled trips to Britain in recent years for the same reason.
Israel hit back over the Livni arrest warrant warning that until the matter was resolved senior officials would not be visiting the UK.
Israelis prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, called the warrant absurd and there has been calls for the the recall of Israel's ambassador to Britain.
The Goldstone report concluded that it found Israels actions during the the war to be 'a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorise a civilian population and could lead a competent court to find that crimes against humanity, had been committed'.
Let us hope that Israel has received an uncomfortable reminder of international anger over the excessive Gaza war and i am proud that Britain has sent out a strong message that it will stand up for international law and justice. Well done us.
3 comments:
Perhaps the British authorities could widen their net and nail a few Americans for war crimes as well, George W Bush for example and Dick Cheney.
Although, come to think of it, Britain has been heavily involved in America's imperialism as well. And Australia...
Sorry, cancel that!
Y'know, it's times like these, when debating the whole Israeli-Palestinian issue, that I really miss Mark! He was always good for a chuckle.
I hadn't heard that the UK government had tried this, and although it's certainly possible to point out double-standards and hypocrisies in any country's foreign policy, I'm also glad we had a go...
Israel's state terrorism against Gaza last year most definitely crossed the line into 'disproportionate response'.
I wish we would widen the net and also look inside our own country David. Bit of a mockery when we got Tony B walking around still.
Very true Cheezy, we just don't seem to get the same degree of blinkered bigotry anymore in the Israel/Palestine posts. The good old days.
Post a Comment