Ehud Olmert could face war crimes arrest if he visits UK

• Prosecution of Israelis likely, says solicitor
• Lawyers working on use of universal jurisdiction

Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister during the Gaza war, would probably face arrest on war crimes charges if he visited Britain, according to a UK lawyer who is working to expand the application of "universal jurisdiction" for offences involving serious human rights abuses committed anywhere in the world.

Neither Olmert nor Tzipi Livni, the foreign minister during the Cast Lead offensive, and a member of Israel's war cabinet, would enjoy immunity from prosecution for alleged breaches of the Geneva conventions, predicted Daniel Machover, who is involved in intensifying legal work after the controversial Goldstone report on the three-week conflict. Neither are ministers any longer.

Prosecutions of Israeli political and military figures remain likely despite the failure to obtain an arrest warrant for Ehud Barak, the defence minister, when he visited the UK earlier this month, he said. In the Barak case a magistrate accepted advice from the Foreign Office that the minister enjoyed state immunity and rejected an application made on behalf of several residents of the Gaza Strip.

"This needs to be tested at the right time and in the right place," Machover said. "One day one of these people will make a mistake and go to the wrong country and face a criminal process — and then it'll be a matter for the courts of that country to give them a fair trial: that's what the Palestinian victims want."

The death toll for the war was some 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. Israel insists it acted in legitimate self-defence in response to rocket attacks by Hamas.

Police sources denied a claim that police maintain a "watch list" of Israeli officers who would face arrest if they try to enter the country.

In 2005 General Doron Almog was tipped off that he was about to be arrested before leaving a plane at Heathrow airport. Last month a former chief of staff, General Moshe Ya'alon, cancelled a visit to Britain, apparently for fear of arrest. Ami Ayalon, former head of the Shin Bet security service, faced an arrest warrant in the Netherlands following a complaint by a Palestinian who said he had been tortured.

The development of universal jurisdiction has been boosted by the Goldstone report, which urged Israel to conduct an independent inquiry into alleged war crimes. Failing that, other governments were advised to try suspects using universal jurisdiction. Another option was for the UN security council to refer allegations to the international criminal court. Israel refused to co-operate with the report, which also accused Hamas of war crimes.

But the law is complex and developing unevenly. Lawyers in Germany were this week unable to obtain an arrest warrant for the current Israeli army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, because German law grants immunity to guests invited on state visits. Spain is considered legally "dangerous" by the Israelis.

Machover confirmed that he was working with other lawyers in the EU and elsewhere "in an increasingly organised fashion in different jurisdictions. It's not just about Palestine. It might be about Rwanda or Afghanistan," he said.

Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper reported today that officers of the Israel Defence Forces who took part in the Gaza operation have been asked to consult legal experts at the foreign ministry, where they are instructed how to behave abroad and in some cases advised not to visit certain countries.

The ministry said it was "aware of efforts undertaken by Palestinian groups and their supporters to harm IDF officers through legal and public relations means, and is working to prevent such efforts."

Source: The Guardian

Could you ever imagine the Times running something like this? Rattling the Cage: Some victims we are

From The Jerusalem Post

The kill ratio was 100-to-1 in our favor. The destruction ratio was much, much greater than that. To this day, thousands of Gazans are living in tents because we won’t let them import cement to rebuild the homes we destroyed. We turned the Gaza Strip into a disaster area, a humanitarian case, and we’re keeping it that way with our blockade.

Meanwhile, here on the Israeli side of the border, it’s hard to remember when life was so safe and secure.

So let’s decide: Who was the victim of Operation Cast Lead, them or us?

No question - us. We Israelis were the victims and we still are. In fact, our victimhood is getting worse by the day. The Goldstone report was the real war crime. The Goldstone report, the UN debates, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Red Cross, B’Tselem, the traitorous soldiers of Breaking the Silence and the Rabin Academy - those were the true crimes against humanity. This is what’s meant by “war is hell.”

It is we who’ve been going through hell from the war in Gaza. It is we who’ve been suffering.

Gazans? Suffering? What’s everybody talking about?

We let them eat, don’t we?

This imaginary monologue is how we actually see ourselves today. We initiated the war in Gaza, we waged one of the most one-sided military campaigns anyone’s ever seen - and we’re the victims.

We’re fighting off the world with the Holocaust; witness Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at the UN with his Auschwitz props. “We won’t go like lambs to the slaughter again,” vowed his protégé, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, in a cabinet discussion of the Goldstone report.

Auschwitz, lambs to the slaughter, Operation Cast Lead. To Israelis today, it’s all of a piece, it’s one story, one unbroken legacy of righteous victimhood.

The truth is that the State of Israel has never been a victim, and our likening of ourselves to the 6 million has been embarrassing from the beginning - but now? After what we did in Gaza? With the stranglehold we have on that society, while we over here live free and easy?

Victims? Lambs to the slaughter? Us?

No, this has gone beyond embarrassing; this is out-and-out shameful.

And, despite our excuses, it’s not that we’re “traumatized” by the past into believing that we’re still weak, still the frightened, powerless Jews about to be led to the gas chambers. Many Holocaust survivors still believe this, and to some very limited extent, this vestigial fear still takes up space in the Israeli mind.
But by now, 64 years after the Holocaust, 42 years after seeing in the Six Day War how strong we’d become, we know, whether we admit it to ourselves or not, that we aren’t the victims anymore. We know we aren’t a continuation of the 6 million but rather a deliberate and stark departure from them.

THE REASON we tell ourselves and the world that we are victims is because we know, whether we admit it to ourselves or not, that victimhood is power. Victimhood is freedom. A victim can’t be told to restrain himself. A victim fighting for survival can’t be accused of abusing his power because, after all, his back is to the wall, he’s desperate.

On the facts, it’s very hard to convince ourselves, let alone the world, that Gaza and its Kassams have pushed Fortress Israel’s back to the wall, that we’re desperate, that we’re struggling to survive. So, to convince ourselves and the world that this really is so, we do two things.

One, we refuse to acknowledge any facts that mar this image of ourselves as victims, and instead go over and over and over only the facts that fit the picture.

We talk only about the thousands of Kassams fired at Sderot; we never mention the thousands of Gazans we killed at the same time.

We talk only about Gilad Schalit; we never mention the 8,000 Palestinian prisoners we’re holding.

And we never mention our ongoing blockade of Gaza or the devastation it does to those people.

The second thing we do to convince ourselves and the world that we’re still victims is to never, ever, ever let go of the Holocaust - because that’s when we really were victims. Victims like nobody’s ever known, victims a million times worse than the Gazans.

Auschwitz, lambs to the slaughter. Remember us, the people of the Holocaust? That wasn’t the Middle East’s superpower you saw fighting in Gaza.

That was the 6 million.

So you can’t blame us. We’re immune from your criticism. We’re the biggest victims the world has ever known. We’re desperate, so don’t tell us about kill ratios and disproportionate use of force and collective punishment. We’re fighting for our survival.

This is what we tell ourselves and the world, and, in the face of what we did and are still doing in Gaza, it has become intolerable. We are not the 6 million. The 6 million were powerless Jews three generations ago; we cannot wrap our abuses of power in their tragedy.

Instead, let’s take a good, hard look at what we did and what we’re doing in Gaza. Then let’s take a good, hard look in the mirror. And then let’s admit who’s the true victim here and now, and, more importantly, who isn’t.

Source: The Jerusalem Post

Help Jewish Voice For Peace Fight efforts to kill the UN Goldstone Gaza report

Fight efforts to kill the UN Goldstone Gaza report

The continued attacks on the Goldstone Report prevent accountability for the civilian victims before, during and after the attack on Gaza -- both Palestinians and Israelis -- and shred the rule of law. That's why we are asking you to say: I support the Goldstone Report. Once you sign, we'll tell you how to easily and quickly lobby Congress and your UN Ambassador in the next few days.

Was Gaza Genocide Pre-Planned?

It appears the plan to cut off, strangle and destroy Gaza including punishing the entire population was in the works long ago. Additionally there appeared to be much discussion by all Zionists regarding the finer points of destroying and murdering a community of Civilians.

Avigdor Lieberman and his extremist killers had a plan. The plan also calls for bombing whole Gaza neighbourhoods in response to rocket-fire, ending visitation rights for PA prisoners, severing Gaza from all other border states and stopping diplomatic contacts with any and all PA officials, including Mahmoud Abbas.

Now, here’s the interesting part, this is a report from May 2007, a full 18 months before the Gaza Genocide. Moreover, there were other ideas put forth to add to Lieberman’s original plan. The plan was ultimately put forth to Olmert. Evidently Olmert had other ideas at the time, but clearly the overwhelming support was for destroying Gaza and that included the civilian population, its infrastructure, its government, its water, and its electricity, the ability of civilians to enter and leave Gaza for any reason. More after this from May 2007:

Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman announced a plan Thursday that calls for a “completion of the Disengagement.” Lieberman explained to Army Radio: “We expelled all the Jews from Gaza and left there completely, but still provide it with economic support, water and electricity. We must sever all connections with Gaza and declare it an independent enemy entity,” he said. “There is no reason Egypt cannot supply the electricity and water for Gaza and let the European Union build infrastructure and provide security if they care about the poor Palestinians so much,” he added. “Membership in the axis of evil has a heavy price—financially, politically, and militarily.”

So, we are all members of the "Axis of Evil" Totally Awesome.........Cos like I'd never want to be on the same side as racist killers like Lieberman. More:

Lieberman said his plan includes a complete closure of all crossings between Gaza and Israel through which PA Arab workers currently cross into Israel and through which aid passes to Gaza. His plan also calls for bombing Gaza neighbourhoods in response to rocket-fire, ending visitation rights for PA terrorists (He means illegally interned Palestinians) until kidnapped (He means Prisoner Of War) IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is released, severing Gaza from Judea and Samaria and stopping diplomatic contacts with any and all PA officials, including Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas.

Lieberman said the plan would come into effect in 2008 and be modelled after how Israel related to the Sinai after withdrawal. "Just as Israel did not continue to provide anything to Sinai after it withdrew, there is no reason why it should act any differently toward Gaza, especially in the current situation," he said.

Well that's all fine well and good, except you cannot block all aid, cut off the border crossings, shut down the electricity and water, and then NOT allow the International community to help the victims. If Israel takes the position of being the occupier and controller of Gaza and its borders, then it is ultimately Israel’s responsibility to protect the Civilian population and take care of them. It's called international law and the Geneva Convention. Israel are the "military Occupiers and Controllers of Gaza" and that brings with it humanitarian responsibilities, which really pisses off Israel. So they allow a tiny "trickle" through once in a while in order to point to their so called "Humanitarian Side" and to offer up as "proof" they are allowing aid into Gaza. Typical Israeli trickery. However, this is no longer hidden from the world. We now see what the Zionist killers "allow and disallow" into Gaza. Things such as paper for kids to write on at school, or pasta, not allowed, all must be considered as terrorist material. After all, HAMAS could cause a severe paper cut to an Israeli solder! Or create some devastating "Pasta Bomb" covered in "Non-Kosher" spaghetti sauce, heaven forbid… More:

Lieberman, The Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is Our Home) chairman said he would present his plan to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the rest of the government Thursday

Now, as stated, at the time Olmert had other plans of action, but clearly the most extreme elements within the Israeli government were beginning to exert pressure on the less extreme (all of them are extreme and hate filled, it’s just a matter of who is the lesser evil I guess) So, the Minister of Labour and Trade offered this little “Add On” to Lieberman’s plan below. The beginning of targeting civilians on a massive scale. See here:

Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Eli Yishai (Shas) suggested that Israel launch air strikes to destroy entire PA villages in response to rocket fire, after warning the Arab residents to vacate their homes.

Whoa, does that sound "familiar????" Except that Israel claimed it warned people but that is yet another Israeli trick as I will point out. They say this in order to keep up that pretence of "Fake Humanity" for the world;o) The problem with a so called "warning" is thus: Where were they, the civilians, supposed to go for safety after receiving this "So Called Warning?" Hmmmm, let's see now.... Schools? Nope, Israel bombed them. Mosques? Nope, Israel bombed them too! Hospitals? Nope, Israel bombed them too! Police Station? Nope, Israel bombed that too! UN Facilities? Nope, Israel bombed them too! So, in essence a so called "Warning" means eff-all for Palestinians in Gaza. More murder planning:

Fellow Shas MK Yitzhak Cohen suggested Israel cut off electricity, water and gas to Gaza – an idea backed by Shabak (General Security Service) chief Yuval Diskin and rehashed in Lieberman’s proposal.

And what else I find interesting is this next bit regarding Egypt, Jordan, the European Union and NATO.

Minister Rafi Eitan (Pensioners) recently suggested a similar idea, involving bringing Egyptian troops into Gaza and Jordanians into Judea and Samaria. "The same thing [as happened following the Second Lebanon War – the deployment of international troops –ed.] sooner or later, will happen in the Gaza Strip, with the senior partner in such a force being Egypt because it has no choice," Eitan told government radio.

You will love the reasoning next:

“When the Egyptians are there, when 500 or 600 (Palestinian) civilians are killed, no one will say anything. That is what will eventually happen. We are getting there, gradually.” Eitan added that he also sees a future deployment of Jordanians in Judea and Samaria.

NATO troops would be called upon to provide security and the European Union would be invited to provide infrastructure and jobs for PA Arabs

Get out your wallets folks. Now, it makes one wonder if this is actually the Ultimate Israeli plan or wish list. Note that it was stated by Lieberman that “his” plan would come into effect in 2008. And when did we see Gaza attacked? December 2008. And we also saw Lieberman brought into government as well. Additionally we have witnessed many of these “suggestions” implemented since May 2007. And from the comments below which I pilfered from the comment section of this 18 month old article seem to bear out much support to wipe out civilians and implement Lieberman’s extremist plan . Note that many comments are filled with vitriol for Olmert for not immediately taking up Lieberman’s suggestions. And one more interesting aspect of this after what follows below (NOTE-I have not bothered to correct the terrible spelling of these morons. Perhaps if they used their brains for something other than racist hatred of Arabs, then maybe some of those spelling lessons would have stuck!)

We suffered no such rockets while we had Gaza. The answer is obvious. Retake Gaza forever! Rebuild Gush Katif better than ever. We know "Disengagement" was a horrid failure. It's time to right the wrong and completely abandon the idiotic, suicidal policy of Israeli retreat.
Chaim, (31/05/07)

29. Gaza Is Part of Biblical Israel: We Cannot Abandon It!
Avigdor Lieberman may be well-intentioned, but unfortunately, through no fault of his own he is an Am Haaretz lacks Torah education.

50. get it over with already!!!
All they do is attack Jews who they say are occupying their land. What chutzpah !(NOTE= See the irony there? Attack Jews who are occupying their land???? Moron just stated the answer to Israel's entire problem) Get rid of this obnoxious vermin that infests the Land of Israel; send them all to Paradise. Fivish, London (31/05/07)(NOTE=this boy's real intelligent, I'd say he has at least a room temperature IQ of around 70 or so)

59. I've got a better idea!
1. IDF must reoccupy parts of Israel lost to "disengagement" and reunite the country. 2. Eng all aid to PA. Use the savings to compensate Israelis deported from parts of Israel under "disengagement". 3. Ban foreign workers, including Palestinians. Give their jobs to Israelis who lost their livelihoods under "disengagement". 4. End negotiations with terrorists and their representatives.
Daniel J. Vandeberg, St. Paul, MN US (01/06/07)

Right, now this next part is very telling. Note that Israel perceives a problem for themselves should Palestine ever be declared a “state” see below:

65. Statehood for the Palestinians is a problem for Israel
In principle I agree with Avigdor Lieberman.However wouldnt declaring them as an enemy state give them soverign rights and a possible association with the U.N. (as being recognized as an independant state.If Israel were to attack them then,there would be dire consequences for Israel maybe and ultimately tying the hands of the U.S. in helping Israel.My opinion is to cut off everything,power,any aide,water and jobs until they release the IDF soldier... Dont help them to ultimately undermine Israel. John, USA (01/06/07)

73. Don't declare no stupid "state": kick them out!!!
Declaring them a state will only add insult to injury. They must be treated as the land-usurping outlaws they are.

Amazing but these sick twisted people have somehow convinced themselves that the reverse is happening. E.g. Palestinians are taking Israeli land LOL Perhaps all Zionists are inflicted with ass-backwards reasoning? more:

Take Gaza back in Jewish hands, and kick them OUT once and for all. Kicking innocent Jewish farmers has proven a total failure, put the Jews back there, it is the ARABS you must kick out. Period.
Rafael V Rabinovich, (03/06/07)

So, this “plan” was beginning to be conceived in 2007 by Lieberman and his extremist racist murdering cohorts and was ultimately fine tuned and later adopted by the Israeli Government. Although some small aspects have changed along the way, for instance the Zionists are “working” with Abbas, but that is merely because they (and America) have turned him using power, money and support. He now works for The United States of Israel. The rest of the plan we have seen come to fruition in Gaza. I also believe that the Zionists may attempt to block Palestine from becoming a state because it would then pose a threat to Israel both politically and on the world stage. THAT threatens Israel’s hold and raises a whole host of legal questions and dilemmas for Israel worldwide.
link

Source: Irish 4 Palestine

Netanyahu’s attempts to silence Breaking the Silence

Netanyahu has asked Spain, Britain and The Netherlands to stop directly funding the Israeli human rights group Breaking the Silence (BTS). BTS has been releasing IDF soldier testimony on the invasion/massacre in Gaza. The accounts by the soldiers are harrowing and document war crimes. The Israeli government claims that governmental support of “politicized” NGOs undermines democracy in the Jewish state. Netanyahu is “contemplating legislation that would ban foreign government funding for groups such as Breaking the Silence.” The main argument is that foreign governmental funding of non-governmental institutions that are ostensibly working “against” the interests of the duly elected government are undemocratic. Ron Dermer, Netanyahu’s senior political adviser, was quoted as saying that funding from foreign embassies for the group amounted to “blatant and unacceptable” intervention in Israel’s internal affairs.

But Don Futterman (program director, Israel, of the Moriah Fund, a private American foundation working in Israel to support civil society and democracy, immigrant absorption and education.) has a different take,

“If our defense minister (Avigor Lieberman) wants us to live up to the claim that the IDF is “the most moral army on earth,” he should welcome soldiers who speak out about illegal acts that they have witnessed or were asked to perform. In our post-war rush to elections, we unfortunately - and perhaps, conveniently - skipped over any discussion concerning the morality of what the army has done. But even our fears of one-sided international condemnation of our actions in Gaza cannot justify official attempts to silence the messenger, especially when that messenger is us.”

He also argues that:

BTS is not an advocacy organization, It is made up of IDF reservists who have served in the territories during their regular military service over the last nine years. In addition to recognizing the harm we are doing to our Palestinian neighbors, the organization urges us to look closely at the damage we are doing to our own soldiers when they are asked to engage in acts of questionable morality or legality. BTS gathers and then publicizes testimony in both words and pictures from soldiers who are willing to come forward. The organization makes every effort to check the veracity of these testimonies, and will not publish any soldier’s comments unless it has corroborating testimony from at least one other reliable source.”

Indeed, a senior Israeli official objected to friendly nations funding “opposition bodies” inside Israel. IDF soldiers are now considered “in opposition” who do not go along with the government line on Gaza. Futterman, in my opinion gets to the heart of this matter:

“Presumably, what the official meant is that the government and the IDF find intolerable opposition to their attempts to control the discourse concerning Israel’s behavior in the territories”

Democracy is not just the process of voting, selecting representation etc, it is also about discourse freely exchanged.

“Some Jewish organizational officials counter that a ban on foreign government support of NGOs is more characteristic of a dictatorship, and would undermine U.S. efforts to support NGOs in Iran and other countries with poor human rights records.

One senior official at a centrist Jewish organization said such an initiative was profoundly counterintuitive, considering how much the Israeli and Jewish establishments had reaped from Western government backing for NGOs assisting Jews in the Soviet Union during the Cold War — and how such support continues today in Iran and the former Soviet Union.

“It’s a little surprising,” said the official, who spoke anonymously to avoid embarrassing Israel’s government. “All over the world, NGOs are accused of taking other governments’ dollars and being tainted by that — the National Endowment for Democracy, the National Democratic Institute, the National Republican Institute. If the Israeli government says we’re going to only let certain human rights groups operate, it makes it harder to make our case” elsewhere.”

The good news is that the government’s heavy handed attempts to silence BTS has only emboldened soldiers to come forward.

Futterman continues:

our government (Israel) should welcome other expressions of foreign support for our civil society, not attempt to control it. If the United Kingdom or Spain or any other state wants to be a true friend to Israeli democracy, it will renew its commitment to BTS.

Akiva Elder also brings up the point from Gush Shalom that:

“the discriminatory blocking of European government funding to a specific group of legal and legitimate NGOs may well result in a public backlash in the EU, which would force your government to cut all funding to Israeli NGOs, including to universities and hospitals.”

Further, such NGO mettling could effect Chrisian Zionist organizations in the EU supporting settlement activity in the West Bank.

Presently, partially as a result of this effort to stop the funding of BTS there is a move by EU based human rights groups to pressure EU governments and the European commission to stop all funding to Israeli NGO’s. This is a definite “shoot yourself in the foot moment.” Not that surprising for the Netanyahu/Lieberman government, but certainly something that would have real effects on Israeli civil society.

Some of the arguments in support of such a ban are either manifest-destiny-loony or racist. For example, one “pro Israel” critic of such NGO support said that “the difference is that Israel is a first world democracy — democracies meddling in the business of other democracies is inappropriate.” By implication, those places
defined, by whatever arbitrary process, as not being first world can be meddled with because they are not democratic so its okay for first world democracies to act undemocratically as long as they are doing so in undemocratic/non-first world counties.

Its really the cliché about who’s ox is being gored, trying to limit such support in a supposedly democratic system in order to limit the free speech rights of a specific group will almost always end badly and undermines the core tenants of any functioning democratic system.

Robert Lipton

Source: Muzzle Watch