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Belgian court petitioned to arrest Israel's Foreign Minister

by Heritage | January 21, 2009 at 08:13 pm

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European attorneys in Belgian have petitioned courts to arrest Israel's Foreign Minister. The action is seen as the first of many in response to war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip.

European attorneys have reportedly petitioned a Belgian court to arrest Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni upon her arrival in Brussels later Wednesday, according to the Jawalan.com Web Site.

The complaints was apparently lodged on behalf of Belgian and French nationals with relatives who were either wounded or killed in Gaza, and calls for Livni to be arrested for war crimes.

Belgian law does not actually allow the arrest of a foreign official with high standing, but the matter could bring embarrassment to Israel and may represent the first in a string of lawsuits now being prepared by pro-Palestinian elements around the world.

Tzipi Livni, Israel's foreign minister, said on Monday that she was "at peace" with the actions Israel had taken during the conflict.

In related news, Israeli human rights activists have set up a website detailing alleged war crimes committed by senior government officials and Israel Defense Forces officers.

...anonymous self-described Israeli human rights activists have set up an Internet site detailing alleged war crimes committed by senior government officials and Israel Defense Forces officers.

The site, www.wanted.org.il, includes "arrest orders," complete with pictures and personal details, for Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Livni, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, National Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and his two predecessors, Dan Halutz and Moshe Ya'alon, former air force commander Eliezer Shkedy and others.

It also explains how to inform the International Criminal Court in The Hague of when the "suspects" are outside Israel, and hence vulnerable to arrest.

The "arrest order" for Barak, for instance, states: "On December 27, 2008, the suspect ordered an aerial assault on all of Gaza's population centers.

An excerpt of an arrest order from the site:

WANTED FOR WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
Tzipi Livni

Attacking innocent people, shooting indiscriminately into residential areas, causing injuries, destroying essential infrastructure such as water, electrical plants and hospitals are all prohibited under International law and are therefore defined war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Description of the suspect: a white woman, 50 years old, above average height, blonde hair.

Anyone who has information about the suspect when he is outside of the Israeli borders, report immediately to:

The Prosecutor
POBox 19519
2500 Hague
Netherlands
Fax +31 70 515 8 555
otp.informationdesk@icc-cpi.int