War Crimes Suit Filed Against Barak, Livni in Belgium

Belgian of Palestinian descent, together with 13 Gaza Strip residents, files case in Brussels court against 14 Israeli leaders and officers

A war-crimes complaint has been filed in a Belgian court against 14 Israeli officials including Ehud Barak, the defence minister.

The complaint seeks charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during Israel’s war on Gaza in January 2009, Georges-Henri Beauthier, lawyer for the group filing the complaint, said on Wednesday.

Ehud Olmert, who headed the government at the time, and Tzipi Livni, his foreign minister, are also named in the document along with other military and intelligence officials.

The prosecutor should decide on the merit of the case by the end of August under Belgium’s law of universal jurisdiction, which allows Belgians to file such complaints, Beauthier said.

Anouar El Okka, a Belgian doctor of Palestinian origin, is one of the 14 plaintiffs that Beauthier is representing.

Okka claims that his olive grove in Gaza was bombarded and then set of fire with phosphorous by Israeli forces.

War crimes

The complaint also cites the bombing of the Ibrahim al-Maqadna mosque,near the refugee camp of Jabaliya, in which 16 civilians including children were killed.

More than 200 people were inside the mosque praying when it was struck.

The other 13 plaintiffs are all Palestinians who were wounded or lost a relative in the attack which results in about 1,400 deaths of mainly Palestinian civilians.

The 70-page complaint also refers to the conclusions of a UN-commissioned report which accused Israelis and Palestinians of war crimes in Gaza.

The plaintiffs said that they did not trust the Israeli court system, “because it is not independent, reliable, or honest according to the criteria of international law”.

Legal history

It is not the first time such legal action has been taken in Belgium.

In 2001, a complaint was filed against Ariel Sharon, a former prime minister, over massacres at refugee camps two decades earlier.

That legal move caused a diplomatic spat between Israel and Belgium and led Brussels to change its universal jurisdiction law, allowing it to apply only in cases that involved Belgian nationals.

Last week, Israeli media reported that Barak cancelled an official visit to Paris after French passengers of the Gaza aid flotillathreatened to file a case against him over a deadly raid that killed nine activists.

The passengers, together with three members of the French parliament, threatened to file cases against Barak both in France and in the International Criminal Court, in the Hague.

Source: Aljaazera.net

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Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies - Two Belgian lawyers working on behalf of Palestinian filed suit against 14 Israeli leaders on allegations of war crimes committed during Operation Cast Lead, news agencies reported.

The respondents include Israeli opposition chairwoman Tzipi Livni for her role as foreign minister during the Gaza offensive between December 2008 and January 2009, former Israeli premier Ehud Olmert, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, and other Israeli army officials and Israel’s intelligence services, Israeli news site Yedioth Ahronoth wrote.

Much of the 70-page complaint is based on the Goldstone report, Agence France-Presse reported. Claimants include a Palestinian-Belgian national and 13 Gaza Strip residents.

The claim includes an attack on a mosque near the Jabaliya refugee camp during which 16 civilians, including children, were killed. The plaintiffs were either wounded or lost a relative in the attack, the news site wrote.

Lawyers reported estimated that Belgium’s attorney general will evaluate the case to determine whether it provides just cause to open a case against the senior Israeli officials “already by the end of August.”

Georges-Henri Beauthier and Alexis Deswaef, the two lawyers representing the claimants, said the current charges would be brought against the Israeli leaders using the principle of universal jurisdiction, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

The claims follow the filing suit by French activists against Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak over the Israeli army’s conduct during its raid of the Freedom Flotilla which saw nine passengers killed by Israeli commandos in international waters on 31 May. The move forced Barak to cancel a Paris visit.

An arrest warrant was issued against Livni in the UK in December 2009 after British lawyers filed suit against the official on behalf of Palestinian respondents for her role in Operation Cast Lead.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu criticized the UN and other international institutions for condemning Israel’s acts on Wednesday, as he addressed the Knesset.

“They want to strip us of the natural right to defend ourselves. When we defend ourselves against rocket attack, we are accused of war crimes. We cannot board sea vessels when our soldiers are being attacked and fired upon, because that is a war crime,” Haaretz quoted him as saying.

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