Israeli Leaders Subject to Arrest in Some Countries
Jerusalem » Stung by a damning U.N. report alleging war crimes in Gaza, Israel is taking extraordinary steps to fend off potential international prosecution of its political and military leaders, hiring high-powered attorneys, lobbying Western governments and launching a public relations blitz.
Israel has dismissed the U.N. investigation into its winter offensive in the Gaza strip as biased, but its latest moves show it is clearly concerned.
The U.N. report appears to have energized pro-Palestinian groups that have hoped for years to bring Israelis before courts in countries that recognize the concept of “universal jurisdiction” — trying people for crimes unrelated to their own territory or nationals.
Most recently, British activists attempted this week to have Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak arrested during a trip to Britain for war crimes connected to his role in the Gaza war. Barak was untouched — but only because the court that considered the request ruled that he enjoyed immunity as a Cabinet minister.
But the incident raised the prospect that Israelis might find it increasingly difficult to travel to European countries that recognize universal jurisdiction.
The U.N. report issued last month by Richard Goldstone, a Jewish judge from South Africa and experienced war crimes prosecutor, accused the Israelis of using excessive force and endangering civilians.
It also accused Gaza’s Hamas rulers of war crimes by firing rockets indiscriminately at civilian areas in Israel.
The U.N. Human Rights Council, which commissioned the report, had been expected to vote to endorse it in Geneva today.
Also on Thursday
Palestinians pull support » The Palestinian Authority, under heavy pressure from the United States, has withdrawn its support for a U.N. Human Rights Council resolution on alleged war crimes in Gaza, diplomats in Geneva said. U.N. and European diplomats said the Palestinian delegation’s surprise turnaround means any resolution on the report would likely be delayed until March.
Poverty in Gaza » The number of Gazans living in “abject” poverty has tripled this year to 300,000, or one in five residents, the Gaza head of the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees said. Gaza’s economy has foundered under an Israeli-Egyptian border blockade.