Tel Aviv, October 05: Israeli vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon recently cancelled a planned trip to London over fears that he could be put on trial for alleged war crimes, his spokesman said on Monday.
He called off the trip for fear human rights groups in London might seek his arrest for his role, as military chief-of-staff at the time, in the 2002 deaths of 15 people, among them a Hamas leader and eight children.
Yaalon, who is also strategic affairs minister, had been invited to attend a fund-raising dinner hosted by the British branch of the Jewish National Fund, but the foreign ministry’s legal team advised against it.
Yaalon was military chief-of-staff when an Israeli warplane dropped a one-tonne bomb in Gaza City which killed Salah Shehadeh, the head of the armed wing of Hamas, and 14 civilians, including his wife, in July 2002.
Last Tuesday Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak escaped a bid to have him arrested in Britain.
Aactivists lodged an application in a London court for the arrest warrant over Israel’s offensive in Gaza in 2008, which left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead, mainly civilians.
The request was denied by a judge after a hearing on the grounds of diplomatic immunity for Barak, according to lawyers who filed the application.
Barak said Israeli officials should be able to move freely between countries without fearing arrest.
“Israel has to see to it that Israeli officials and high ranking officers can move freely in the world,” Barak said in a brief statement to reporters in Brighton.
A group of nine Labour lawmakers demonstrated against his presence, while human rights protesters also rallied on the Brighton seafront.
“The Friends of Israel should not allow their event to be used in this way as a platform for a man who has been accused of war crimes,” said lawmaker Martin Linton, the chairman of the Labour Friends of Palestine group.
About 100 protesters staged a peaceful rally on the seafront opposite the hotel where the event was held.
Holding banners saying “Wanted Ehud Barak 1,400 dead” and “Ehud Barak War Criminal,” the British crowd chanted “shame on you.”
In London, lawyers lodged an application at the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court for the arrest warrant to be issued for Barak, on grounds of war crimes in connection with the Gaza offensive.
“We are disappointed that the application for an arrest warrant was denied by the judge today,” lawyer Tayab Ali said.
“He (Barak) was effectively able to hide behind the diplomatic immunity he has been given because of his senior position in the Israeli government.”
—Agencies