Spanish Legal Case Against 7 Israeli Occupation Forces Officers, Charged with War Crimes, Continues

Spanish Human Rights case against 7 Israeli officers not "quashed" as expected

Date: 04 / 10 / 2008  Time:  13:36
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

The Israeli occupation government told Spain to “find a solution” to the suit filed against seven high-ranking army officials including former Defense Minister Benyamin Ben Eliezer in Spanish courts this June.

The suit accuses the officers of using excessive force during the assassination of Hamas leader Salah Shehadah. In the 2002 attack a one-tone bomb was used to destroy the home of Shehadah, which caused the death of 15 of his neighbors, 11 of them women and children.

The suit asks Spanish courts to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Defense Minister (2001-2001) Benyamin Ben Eliezer, and six individuals who were acting under his orders at the time: former military advisor to Ben Eleizer, Michael Herzog, former Israeli Army Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon and Dan Halutz, former Commander of the Israeli Air Force.

While no arrest warrants have been issued, the Israeli press has published reports of a secret Spanish communiqué sent to the Israeli government, which enquires as to the actions taken against those named in the human rights suit. The document also asks whether any of those responsible for the attack still hold state positions which might grant them diplomatic immunity.

The Israeli occupation government is expected to claim that the matter has been dealt with by the Supreme Court, which formed a “special committee” to look into minimizing collateral damages during military actions in Palestinian areas.

According to the Palestine Center for Human Rights (PCHR), which is a partner in the suit, similar suits have been attempted against the perpetrators of the 2002 assassination in Israeli courts, but none have been successful.

If the suit goes forward, any of the accused men would be arrested if they set foot on Spanish soil.

According to the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz, “Israel expects the Spanish government to quash the petition, as the UK before it.” The courts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United States and New Zealand have all previously accepted cases against the Israeli occupation forces commanders.

In the meantime the Israeli foreign ministry has issued an advisory to the men accused, saying they should refrain from travel to Spain until the matter is resolved.

As a member of the International Criminal Court, Spain has the right to try individuals for War Crimes that did not occur on Spanish soil. As the Israeli papers pointed out, “the Hague considers Israel's control on the territories a "crime of war."”

The suit was filed by a Spanish Human Rights institution in cooperation with PCHR on behalf of six Palestinians who survived the massive explosion launched by Israeli forces. Spanish lawyers Antonio Segura, Gonzalo Boye, Raul Maillo, and Juan Moreno, will try the case. They are known best for their involvement in the case against Augusto Pinochet for Crimes Against Humanity in Great Britain, where the group represented the victims of torture from Guatemala. PCHR has been working with the four Lawyers for more than two years.

The Spanish court accepted the case in June and has been pressing forward steadily. The first hearing was held in late July. The case marks the first time the survivors of an Israeli military attack have filed a lawsuit in Spain against members of the Israeli military, it asks that there be justice and moral compensation given to the victims, and that those responsible for the attack be held accountable.

Since the start of the case the Spanish courts and PCHR have been supplying the Israeli foreign ministry with the documentation from the proceedings.

The extra judicial killing for which the seven officers are accused of using excessive force occurred on 22 July 2002. An Israeli Air Force jet dropped a 2000 lb. bomb on the house of Salah Shehadah, a commander of the El-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah. The explosion destroyed the man’s home and several surrounding buildings, killing 15.

At the time Israeli intelligence told [former] Israeli Army Chief of Staff, General Moshe Ya’alon, that Shehada’s wife and daughter “Were close to him during the implementation of the assassination … and there was no way out of conducting the operation despite their presence.”

Israeli media are calling the situation “diplomatically-volatile” and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was quoted as telling Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Moratinos that Israeli military “officers must not be harmed by anyone filing a political, anti-Israeli lawsuit."

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