Hamas Behind Livni Arrest Warrant

Paul noted here that a British judge had issued an arrest warrant for Tzipi Livni, Israel’s former Foreign Minister. The warrant charges that Livni was guilty of “war crimes” in the course of Israel’s effort to defend itself against missiles launched from Gaza by Islamic terrorists.
The London Times now reports that Hamas was behind the warrant:

The Islamist group Hamas is masterminding efforts to have senior Israeli leaders arrested for alleged war crimes when they visit European countries including Britain, a top Hamas official involved in the effort has told The Times.
The claim comes amid continuing diplomatic fallout after a British arrest warrant was issued last week against Tzipi Livni, who served as Foreign Minister during Israel’s Gaza offensive last winter. …
The campaign by Hamas takes advantage of an aspect of law in England and Wales that allows anyone to apply for an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes without the need for a prosecuting lawyer. The identity of the person or organisation that applied for Ms Livni’s warrant has not been made public, but Hamas says that it initiated the move. …

The statute is a stupid one, and Britain’s government is talking about changing it. But Hamas is pursuing the same strategy across much of Europe:

Diya al-Din Madhoun, who heads the Hamas committee set up to coordinate the campaign, said that it had “all the political and military leaders of the occupation in our sights”, although he did not specify its future targets. He told The Times: “This has absolutely become our policy.” The committee of legal specialists was established after the Gaza offensive to investigate allegations of war crimes carried out by Israeli forces. It compiled 1,500 cases over several months and started to encourage alleged victims to file charges against Israeli leaders in countries such as Britain, Spain, Belgium and Norway, according to Mr Madhoun. …
The Israeli daily newspaper Ma’ariv said that lawyers acting for the committee “go into action each time an Israeli senior official arrives in a European country in which they are operating. The ‘incrimination file’ formed by Hamas on the respective senior official is then dispatched to them, and from there it is sent to the court with a request for an arrest warrant.”
Other organisations have tried to use European legal systems for a similar purpose. In 2003 a Belgian court ruled that Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli Prime Minister, could be tried in Belgium for war crimes over his role in the notorious Sabra and Shatila massacres of 1982.
In July this year the National Court of Spain issued arrest warrants against six Israelis including Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, a former Defence Minister, over war crimes allegations dating back to 2002. Several other Israeli politicians and officials are believed to have avoided travelling to Britain because of the threat.

This is, obviously, an obscenity. But it isn’t hard to see where the Europeans are coming from. They have lots of Muslim inhabitants who demand to be placated, and very few Jews, since they killed or drove out nearly all of them a generation ago.

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