War crime suit filed against Israelis

War crime suit filed against Israelis
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:09:30

From left to right: Haultz, Elizer,Ya'alon

A Palestinian human rights group has brought war crime charges against former high ranking Israeli officials in a Spanish court.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) filed lawsuit in the National Criminal Court of Spain against the Israeli officials who authorized the al-Daraj bloodshed.

The list includes former Israel's war minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, his former military advisor Michael Herzog, former chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon, and former air force commander Dan Halutz, Ma'an News Agency reported on Tuesday.

The National Criminal Court of Spain has agreed to consider the case for further examination that may lead to a formal prosecution. Those charged would then be arrested upon entering the Spanish territory if the case is won by the Palestinians, the news agency added.

The Spanish court is not alone in hearing a case against the Israeli war criminals; the courts of Britain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand had all previously accepted cases against the Israeli military.

In an attempt to assassinate one of the Fatah leaders, Salah Shehadeh, an Israeli fighter jet dropped a one-ton bomb over the Gaza neighborhood of al-Daraj on July 22, 2002. The bombing left fifteen Palestinians dead, including eight children and three women; more than one hundred and fifty others were also wounded in the attack.

The al-Daraj bombing provoked international condemnation for being too much disproportionate. The mishap caused more outcry as the Israeli military claims that it can target and assassinate individuals with nearly pinpoint accuracy.

The PCHR spokesman said on Tuesday that the group is waiting to see that justice and moral compensation will come to the victims and the perpetrators of such a hideous crime will face the bitter consequence of their act.