[News] Spanish court opens war crimes investigation into 2002 attack on Gaza

[Anti-Imperialist News]

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Spanish court opens war crimes investigation into 2002 attack on Gaza
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4670&Itemid=1

30.01.09 - 16:14

Gaza / PNN - On Thursday the Spanish National 
Court issued its formal decision to investigate 
Israeli leaders for war crimes.

As the highest Spanish judicial council, the 
court joined legal experts throughout the world 
in taking to task the Israelis for acts against the Gaza Strip.

While many of the cases currently being sent to 
The Hague, and those in other national courts, 
focus on the major attacks on Gaza which began 27 
December, decades of war crimes charges have been filed in the past.

The Spanish court is focusing on seven former 
senior Israeli military officials suspected to 
have committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip in 2002.

Former Defense Minister and current 
Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, his 
former military advisor, Michael Herzog, former 
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon, former 
Commander of the Israeli Air Force Dan Halutz, 
former Head of the Israeli Intelligence Service, 
Avi Dichter, former Head of the Israeli Southern 
Command Doron Almog, and former Head of the 
Israeli National Security Council Giora Eiland 
were called yesterday to present themselves to 
the Spanish National Court within 30 days. If 
they do not, the court will issue international warrants for their arrests.

In addition to this decision, described as 
“ground-breaking” by the Palestinian Centre for 
Human Rights in Gaza City, the Spanish court 
announced that “if intent to exterminate the 
Palestinian population” can be proven the charge may be increased to genocide.

The Spanish court is dealing with the 
assassination of Salah Shehada on 22 July 2002. 
It was at approximately midnight that an Israeli 
warplane dropped a 2,000 pound bomb on the home 
of the Al Qassam Brigades leader. The attack 
killed Shehada and 17 other people including his 
wife and daughter, his bodyguard, and eight 
children. One of the children was just two months 
old. Also killed were two elderly men and two 
women. This was a major attack in the Daraj 
neighborhood of Gaza City that completely 
destroyed 11 houses and injured 77 other civilians.

The PCHR in Gaza City undertook the case, 
bringing the lawsuit via the National Court of 
Spain in June 2008. “
.after lengthy 
consultations with international legal experts 
indicted the possibility of launching universal 
jurisdiction cases regarding war crimes committed 
by IOF. The Centre notes that similar cases of 
suspected war crimes have previously been filed 
in Israeli courts, but did not lead to successful 
prosecutions. On the contrary, the Israeli 
judiciary has been used as a legal cover for the 
perpetration of war crimes against the 
Palestinian population, and as a tool to 
deliberately hinder international jurisdiction 
under the pretext of a ‘fair’ national judicial 
system operating in Israel,” reads a news release 
welcoming Thursday’s court decision.

As described by the PCHR, the well-respected 
organization “previously filed a lawsuit in the 
UK against former Head of the Israeli Army 
Southern Commend, Doron Almog, for committing 
grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention 
during his army service, (considered a criminal 
offense in the UK under the Geneva Conventions of 
1949) Almog arrived in the UK on 10 September 
2005, after a warrant had been issued for his 
arrest. Having been informed of the warrant 
before he disembarked, Almog subsequently fled 
straight back to Israel on the same plane.”

***********************************************************************

Spanish Judge accepts PCHR lawsuit against senior 
Israeli officials, Israel to appeal decision

http://www.imemc.org/article/58696
Friday January 30, 2009 11:47  by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

A Spanish judge accepted a lawsuit filed by the 
Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) 
against senior Israeli officials for committing 
war crimes against the Palestinian people after 
the officials gave the go ahead for shelling the 
house of a senior Hamas leader in 2002, killing 
15 Palestinians and wounding more than 100, the Arabs48 news website reported.

At least nine of the casualties in the shelling 
were children and women. The Israeli Army dropped 
a 15 ton bomb on the house of Salah Shihada, a Hamas leader.

The Spanish Judge, Fernando Andreu, accepted the 
lawsuit, which was filed by the PCHR, and sent 
two letters; one to Israel informing Israeli 
officials that a probe is underway, and the 
second to the Palestinian Authority informing 
them that the case has been accepted.

Israel claims that Shihada is responsible for 
hundreds of attacks against Israeli targets, and 
considers him the person in charge of 
communication between the political and military leaders of Hamas.

He was considered in charge of all Hamas’ 
military actions since the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000.

One of the Israeli officials charged of 
committing war crimes is Infrastructure Minister, 
Benjamin Ben-Eliezer. Six other former, and 
current officials are also facing the same charges.

Ben- Eliezer was serving as the Israeli Defense 
Minister at the time of the attack. After the 
Spanish judge announced his decision, Ben-Eliezer 
described the decision as “ridiculous and outrageous”.

Ben- Eliezer added that “terror groups are using 
the international courts and democracies to file 
lawsuits against those who counter terrorism”.

Judge Andreu said that Shihada is a densely 
populated civilian area, and targeting it could 
constitute a crime against humanity, Israeli online daily Haaretz reported.

The Israeli embassy in Madrid started preparing 
documents in cooperation with Israeli officials to justify the attack.

Several Israeli officials said that Israel is now 
preparing itself for a wave of lawsuits by human 
rights groups for attacks in Gaza, and in other Palestinian areas.

They added that they fear Israel would be forced 
to accept international probes, or its officials 
would be facing personal lawsuits in different 
countries similar to a lawsuit in Britain against 
Israeli officials for committing war crimes against the Palestinian people.





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