British Clowns Continue to Not Amuse
Not content with targeting their anti-terror resources at General Doron Almog, former head of the Israel Defense Forces' Southern Command, Britain is now taking aim at other Israeli officials:
Chief of Staff Dan Halutz surely can't be planning a trip to London in the near future. And if his itinerary includes such a journey any time soon, perhaps he should drop the idea or think of an alternative destination. Halutz - like Major General (res.) Doron Almog, who refrained two days ago from disembarking from an El Al plane in London and was forced to return to Israel, and like former chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon - is facing in Britain a complaint pertaining to his involvement in approving the targeted killing of Salah Shehadeh in July 2002.
Meanwhile, if they can't get their hands on any important Israelis, British pro-Palestinian groups are trying to wreck diplomatic and security cooperation between Britain and Israel by going after low-level Israeli diplomats:
A lawyer representing a UK Palestinian group that filed a lawsuit against IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Doron Almog has demanded that the Scotland Yard investigate the actions of Israeli diplomats in aiding the senior officer's hasty departure, the Guardian reported on Tuesday. Daniel Machover said Israeli officials had been involved in "calculated interference" in thwarting British justice. "There needs to be a criminal investigation of the actions taken by Israeli embassy staff. They are not located here to assist Israelis to evade British justice," he said.
On Sunday, Almog - former OC Southern Command - evaded arrest at Heathrow Airport in London after he was warned not to disembark from an El Al flight because British detectives were waiting to arrest him. The arrest warrant had been issued on Saturday by the Bow Street Magistrate's Court at the request of a pro-Palestinian Muslim group... Almog said in a Channel One interview that he and his wife were going to England to participate in a fundraiser for Alei Negev, an organization that builds homes for children with disabilities.
The consequence of all this is that anyone of any military importance from Israel probably can't go to Britain right now. Since Britain isn't facing any terrorist threats - and since, even if they were, Israeli generals probably couldn't give them any good advice - this is probably not impacting the safety of Her Majesty's subjects in any way.:
"This is a problem that needs to be solved on a diplomatic level," she said. "I would recommend that Israel begin talking to England and that high-ranking soldiers refrain from traveling to England." International law expert Professor James Crawford said Israeli soldiers could only be tried for war crimes on specific events and not just for having served in the IDF...
Almog added, "Look at the paradox. On 9/11, I land in London and they try to arrest me, the same person who fought terror more than anyone. I was the first soldier in Entebbe. During my service there were 400 attempts to infiltrate into Israel from Gaza, but they all failed because I created buffer zones by demolishing the homes [in Rafiah]."
Chief of Staff Dan Halutz surely can't be planning a trip to London in the near future. And if his itinerary includes such a journey any time soon, perhaps he should drop the idea or think of an alternative destination. Halutz - like Major General (res.) Doron Almog, who refrained two days ago from disembarking from an El Al plane in London and was forced to return to Israel, and like former chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon - is facing in Britain a complaint pertaining to his involvement in approving the targeted killing of Salah Shehadeh in July 2002.
Meanwhile, if they can't get their hands on any important Israelis, British pro-Palestinian groups are trying to wreck diplomatic and security cooperation between Britain and Israel by going after low-level Israeli diplomats:
A lawyer representing a UK Palestinian group that filed a lawsuit against IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Doron Almog has demanded that the Scotland Yard investigate the actions of Israeli diplomats in aiding the senior officer's hasty departure, the Guardian reported on Tuesday. Daniel Machover said Israeli officials had been involved in "calculated interference" in thwarting British justice. "There needs to be a criminal investigation of the actions taken by Israeli embassy staff. They are not located here to assist Israelis to evade British justice," he said.
On Sunday, Almog - former OC Southern Command - evaded arrest at Heathrow Airport in London after he was warned not to disembark from an El Al flight because British detectives were waiting to arrest him. The arrest warrant had been issued on Saturday by the Bow Street Magistrate's Court at the request of a pro-Palestinian Muslim group... Almog said in a Channel One interview that he and his wife were going to England to participate in a fundraiser for Alei Negev, an organization that builds homes for children with disabilities.
The consequence of all this is that anyone of any military importance from Israel probably can't go to Britain right now. Since Britain isn't facing any terrorist threats - and since, even if they were, Israeli generals probably couldn't give them any good advice - this is probably not impacting the safety of Her Majesty's subjects in any way.:
"This is a problem that needs to be solved on a diplomatic level," she said. "I would recommend that Israel begin talking to England and that high-ranking soldiers refrain from traveling to England." International law expert Professor James Crawford said Israeli soldiers could only be tried for war crimes on specific events and not just for having served in the IDF...
Almog added, "Look at the paradox. On 9/11, I land in London and they try to arrest me, the same person who fought terror more than anyone. I was the first soldier in Entebbe. During my service there were 400 attempts to infiltrate into Israel from Gaza, but they all failed because I created buffer zones by demolishing the homes [in Rafiah]."
