Israel reacted furiously to a decision by a Spanish judge on Thursday to open a probe of seven former top security officials for alleged war crimes in the 2002 bombing in Gaza that killed top Hamas terrorist Salah Shehadeh as well as 14 other people and is considering appealing the move.
The investigation has been ordered against National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who was defense minister at the time; Likud Knesset candidate Moshe Ya’alon, who was chief of General Staff; Dan Halutz, then commander of the air force; Doron Almog, who was OC Southern Command; then-National Security Council head Giora Eiland; the defense minister’s military secretary, Mike Herzog; and Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, who was head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency)…
Should the Spanish judge, Fernando Andreu, choose to issue an international arrest warrant for any of the Israelis in question, they could be arrested upon arrival in any European Union member state.
A furious reaction is appropriate. The fact that Israel alone is treated this way for defending herself against murderous terrorism, when so many real crimes and abuses of human rights are perpetrated throughout the world, is an indication that there are other, darker, motives than a concern for human rights at work.
But it’s not surprising. The degree of Israel-hatred in some places has truly reached psychotic levels. What is shocking is this:
The Justice Ministry rejected allegations that it had failed to take seriously a request from Spanish authorities to turn over key documents connected to the targeted killing of Shehadeh.
It issued a statement on Thursday night saying that “the Spanish authorities asked to receive materials in the course of January, and because of the large quantity of the material in question, the preparation of the documents has continued until now.”
According to Justice Ministry spokesman Moshe Cohen, “In consultation with all of the relevant people in different government ministries, it was decided – in an exceptional decision – to comply with the Spanish judge’s request to acquire documents concerning legal proceedings in Israel regarding the Shehadeh affair.
“To our regret, the Spanish authorities did not wait to receive the materials from Israel, and have already published their decision,” he wrote. “There is no doubt that the very issuance of this suit constitutes a cynical and political attempt by private anti-Israel interests to take advantage of the Spanish judicial system to butt heads with Israel.”
Question to Justice Ministry and Moshe Cohen: Are you out of your minds?
Of course Israel should not “take seriously” a request from a deranged lynch mob to provide documents for their kangaroo court!
Does anybody actually think that any such proceeding would be fair? Do they remember the ruling of the International Court of ‘Justice’ that Israel’s security barrier is illegal — a ruling that was made without any consideration of the terrorism it was built to prevent?
How can Spain or Europe in any sense have jurisdiction over a sovereign nation such as Israel? “The judge is acting under a doctrine that allows prosecution in Spain of such an offense or crimes like terrorism or genocide, even if they are alleged to have been committed in another country.” What arrogance — and coming from the people that give us the Spanish Inquisition and the rape of Meso-America!
Even to consider providing documents for such a proceeding is to accept the premise that it is in some sense legitimate.
Why don’t the Spanish authorities ask Russia to turn over “key documents” regarding to its actions in Chechyna? Or indict Omar al-Bashir for Sudan’s genocide in Darfur? More to the point, why don’t they prosecute Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Meshaal for the countless war crimes committed by Hamas? Here are a few of them (courtesy of Elder of Ziyon):
- Deliberately targeting civilians
- Attacking from within civilian areas and civilian structures, including hospitals and mosques
- Using humanitarian symbols for attacks, such as by transporting terrorists in ambulances
- Direct and public incitement to genocide
- The systematic attacks against civilians upgrades that war crime into a crime against humanity
- The recruitment of children into the conflict
- Firing at the enemy while wearing civilian clothes
- Wearing the uniforms of the enemy
- Shooting rockets with phosphorus payloads deliberately at civilians
- Not adhering to international standards on the treatment of prisoners of war
- Immediate execution of alleged “collaborators” without a trial
- Deliberately placing military targets, such as weapons caches and rocket launchers, among civilians
Technorati Tags: Israel, Spain, war crimes
According to Manfred Gerstenfeld Spain is one of the most Anti- Semitic countries in Europe. Why this is the case I do not exactly know. Does it relate to the rule of always hating more those one has wronged? It would seem to me doubtful that the Spanish historical memory of the Inquisition is what causes this.
Is it because it was once a strongly Catholic country? Ireland too is a great hater of Israel these days.
I do not know the answer. But it is yet another instance of the global discrimination against and ‘pariah-ization’ of Israel taking place now.
Worrisome, indeed.
I agree with Vic Rosenthal’s idea that the Israeli Authorities should not in any way be cooperating with Spanish courts on this.