Metropolitan police allow Israeli General wanted for war crimes to flee
Boycott Israeli Goods | 12.09.2005 17:11 | Anti-militarism
Amnesty International today deplored the failure of the United Kingdom (UK) authorities to arrest Israeli army General Doron Almog when he arrived at London’s Heathrow airport yesterday, describing this as a clear violation of the UK’s obligations under both national and international law. A warrant for the general’s arrest for alleged war crimes had been issued by an English court the previous day.
Amnesty International deplores failure to arrest Israeli war crimes suspect
Press release, 09/12/2005
Amnesty International today deplored the failure of the United Kingdom (UK) authorities to arrest Israeli army General Doron Almog when he arrived at London’s Heathrow airport yesterday, describing this as a clear violation of the UK’s obligations under both national and international law. A warrant for the general’s arrest for alleged war crimes had been issued by an English court the previous day.
The organization is now calling on the UK authorities to urge Interpol to circulate the arrest warrant and on other states party to the Geneva Conventions to cooperate with the UK in carrying out the arrest and handing over General Almog to the UK's court.
General Almog, former head of the Israeli army's Southern Command, landed at London Heathrow airport on 11 September 2005 on a flight from Tel Aviv. However, he declined to disembark from the aircraft apparently after being informed that he could be arrested. Meanwhile, London's Metropolitan Police reportedly refused to enter the plane to effect the general's arrest and then allowed him to depart from the UK for Israel on the same El Al aircraft on which he had arrived.
"The refusal to arrest a person suspected of war crimes is a clear violation both of the UK's unconditional obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention and under national law," said Amnesty International, calling for the refusal to execute the arrest warrant to be investigated.
It is difficult to believe that the police would have refused to arrest a person who had arrived in the UK on board an airliner if that person was wanted for drug-trafficking or security offences, simply because they had not passed through UK border controls, if that meant they would otherwise evade arrest.
It is not known whether the information which alerted General Almog that he would be arrested was leaked by the UK authorities or by other sources.
"The leak, whether deliberate or accidental, is a matter of serious concern and should be investigated, as it perverted the course of justice and undermined an investigation into war crimes," said the organization.
The arrest warrant against General Almog was issued by the Chief London Magistrate on 10 September under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957, on the basis of suspicion of the suspect's involvement in the destruction by the Israeli army of 59 Palestinian homes in a refugee camp in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on 10 January 2002.
General Almog headed the Israeli army's Southern Command, an area that includes the Gaza Strip, between December 2000 and July 2003.
The "extensive destruction...of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly" is a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 147) and, as such, a war crime.
The UK is "under the obligation to search for persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed, such grave breaches, and shall bring such persons, regardless of their nationality, before its own courts" (Article 146). If it does not do so, it must hand such persons over for trial to another state party to the convention that is able and willing to do so. The Fourth Geneva Convention expressly forbids the UK from entering into any agreement with another state absolving itself of this obligation (Article 148).
During the past five years, since the outbreak of the intifada (Palestinian uprising) in September 2000, the Israeli army has destroyed some 4,000 Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories, about half of them in the Gaza Strip, as well as vast areas of cultivated land, commercial properties and public buildings, water and electricity networks, and other public infrastructure. In the vast majority of cases the destruction was not justified by military necessity and was carried out unlawfully and wantonly.
The Israeli authorities have systematically failed to comply with Israel’s obligations under international law to investigate these and other human rights abuses and to bring to justice those responsible.
The UK's obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention have been given effect in domestic law via the Geneva Conventions Act 1957, which applies to: "Any person, whatever his nationality, who, whether in or outside the United Kingdom, commits, or aids, abets or procures the commission by any other person of, a grave breach of any of the scheduled conventions or the first protocol…”" [Article 1.-(1)].
Each state party to the Fourth Geneva Convention is obliged under Article 1 to "respect and ensure respect for" the Convention and should call upon Israel to open an immediate, thorough, prompt, independent and impartial investigation of the alleged grave breaches and, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, to prosecute. If Israel does not do so, each state party has the power to issue an arrest warrant under Article 146 and, if the suspect enters their territory, has the obligation to execute that arrest warrant.
Background
Since the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada (uprising) in September 2000, the Israeli army has killed more than 3,200 Palestinians, most of them unlawfully and including more than 600 children. In the same period, armed Palestinian groups have killed some 1,000 Israeli, most of them were civilians, including some 120 children, and were deliberately and unlawfully targeted. In addition, the Israeli army has carried out extensive destruction of Palestinian homes, land and other properties throughout the Occupied Territories and has continued to build and expand Israeli settlements (illegal under international law) in the West Bank and to construct a 600km fence/wall through the West Bank, cutting off Palestinian farmers from their land and further restricting the movement of Palestinians between villages.
Amnesty International has investigated a wide range of human rights abuses committed by both the Israeli and the Palestinian sides and has continued to call for all those responsible for human rights abuses, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, to be brought to justice and held accountable for their crimes.
http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGEUR450362005
Press release, 09/12/2005
Amnesty International today deplored the failure of the United Kingdom (UK) authorities to arrest Israeli army General Doron Almog when he arrived at London’s Heathrow airport yesterday, describing this as a clear violation of the UK’s obligations under both national and international law. A warrant for the general’s arrest for alleged war crimes had been issued by an English court the previous day.
The organization is now calling on the UK authorities to urge Interpol to circulate the arrest warrant and on other states party to the Geneva Conventions to cooperate with the UK in carrying out the arrest and handing over General Almog to the UK's court.
General Almog, former head of the Israeli army's Southern Command, landed at London Heathrow airport on 11 September 2005 on a flight from Tel Aviv. However, he declined to disembark from the aircraft apparently after being informed that he could be arrested. Meanwhile, London's Metropolitan Police reportedly refused to enter the plane to effect the general's arrest and then allowed him to depart from the UK for Israel on the same El Al aircraft on which he had arrived.
"The refusal to arrest a person suspected of war crimes is a clear violation both of the UK's unconditional obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention and under national law," said Amnesty International, calling for the refusal to execute the arrest warrant to be investigated.
It is difficult to believe that the police would have refused to arrest a person who had arrived in the UK on board an airliner if that person was wanted for drug-trafficking or security offences, simply because they had not passed through UK border controls, if that meant they would otherwise evade arrest.
It is not known whether the information which alerted General Almog that he would be arrested was leaked by the UK authorities or by other sources.
"The leak, whether deliberate or accidental, is a matter of serious concern and should be investigated, as it perverted the course of justice and undermined an investigation into war crimes," said the organization.
The arrest warrant against General Almog was issued by the Chief London Magistrate on 10 September under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957, on the basis of suspicion of the suspect's involvement in the destruction by the Israeli army of 59 Palestinian homes in a refugee camp in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on 10 January 2002.
General Almog headed the Israeli army's Southern Command, an area that includes the Gaza Strip, between December 2000 and July 2003.
The "extensive destruction...of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly" is a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 147) and, as such, a war crime.
The UK is "under the obligation to search for persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed, such grave breaches, and shall bring such persons, regardless of their nationality, before its own courts" (Article 146). If it does not do so, it must hand such persons over for trial to another state party to the convention that is able and willing to do so. The Fourth Geneva Convention expressly forbids the UK from entering into any agreement with another state absolving itself of this obligation (Article 148).
During the past five years, since the outbreak of the intifada (Palestinian uprising) in September 2000, the Israeli army has destroyed some 4,000 Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories, about half of them in the Gaza Strip, as well as vast areas of cultivated land, commercial properties and public buildings, water and electricity networks, and other public infrastructure. In the vast majority of cases the destruction was not justified by military necessity and was carried out unlawfully and wantonly.
The Israeli authorities have systematically failed to comply with Israel’s obligations under international law to investigate these and other human rights abuses and to bring to justice those responsible.
The UK's obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention have been given effect in domestic law via the Geneva Conventions Act 1957, which applies to: "Any person, whatever his nationality, who, whether in or outside the United Kingdom, commits, or aids, abets or procures the commission by any other person of, a grave breach of any of the scheduled conventions or the first protocol…”" [Article 1.-(1)].
Each state party to the Fourth Geneva Convention is obliged under Article 1 to "respect and ensure respect for" the Convention and should call upon Israel to open an immediate, thorough, prompt, independent and impartial investigation of the alleged grave breaches and, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, to prosecute. If Israel does not do so, each state party has the power to issue an arrest warrant under Article 146 and, if the suspect enters their territory, has the obligation to execute that arrest warrant.
Background
Since the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada (uprising) in September 2000, the Israeli army has killed more than 3,200 Palestinians, most of them unlawfully and including more than 600 children. In the same period, armed Palestinian groups have killed some 1,000 Israeli, most of them were civilians, including some 120 children, and were deliberately and unlawfully targeted. In addition, the Israeli army has carried out extensive destruction of Palestinian homes, land and other properties throughout the Occupied Territories and has continued to build and expand Israeli settlements (illegal under international law) in the West Bank and to construct a 600km fence/wall through the West Bank, cutting off Palestinian farmers from their land and further restricting the movement of Palestinians between villages.
Amnesty International has investigated a wide range of human rights abuses committed by both the Israeli and the Palestinian sides and has continued to call for all those responsible for human rights abuses, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, to be brought to justice and held accountable for their crimes.
http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGEUR450362005
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Comments
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the truth about Amnesty
12.09.2005 18:43
Amnesty clearly lists action against the illegal occupation as illegal. ALL JEWS on occupied land are, by definition, enemy combatants, and of course, may be legally targeted. If China had invaded the UK, and Chinese colonies existed in these isles, we would be fully entitled to take WHATEVER action against these invaders to remove them. We would also be fully entitled to strike against mainland China until Chinese forces were fully removed from these Isles, and that is ALL the Palestinians have ever done.
So how is it that the SICKENING RACIST idea has been propagated by Amnesty that while it was LEGAL for the British to firebomb Germany, in order to seek its surrender, and the removal of its forces from other countries, and while it was LEGAL for the British to mass bomb the whole of Iraq in order to return Kuwait to a TINY MINORITY of its actual population, Palestinian behaviour in fighting one of the most evil armies the world has EVER seen is illegal???
What you are ACTUALLY seeing played out now is nothing more than a political game designed to allow the thuggish leaders of the various Muslim states to placate their own people. Blair KNOWS the people of these countries are not that stupid, but he thinks that he can buy the TEMPORARY support of the various dictators that rule them, until it is too late for them and their countries. Hitler did EXACTLY the same, offering the various leaders of Europe mock actions designed to make the future look reassuring, so those leaders could stay in power a few more years until Hitler was ready to act against them.
Take the reality of Gaza. Did you know that Blair has promised Israel that Gaza can be treated as a FREE BOMBING ZONE. In other words, as with Iraq, Afghanistan, and Chetnya etc, Israeli forces will be free to bomb targets in Gaza at will, and Blair will ensure UK or US vetos in the UN against ANY complaints. Jews have been removed from Gaza, so that when the balloon goes up, the Israelis can slaughter Palestinians without risk to their 'own'.
Back to the Metropolitan Police. This police force, in common with many across Europe, and the US, trains with KNOWN jewish terrorists in Israel, directly using information and tactics derived from the oppression and mass murder of Palestinians and others. Senior members of this police force hold greater loyalties to Israel than the people of the UK, and would NEVER allow Israelis to be arrested on British soil. Despite the widespread presence of Isreali criminals in terrorism, arms-trading, slavery and prostitution, and drug dealing, finding an Israeli in a Western Prison is as unlikely as finding a moral thought in Tony Blair's brain.
When Israelis are arrested for terrorism (as with the sickening case in New Zealand recently, or Canada, or with those that filmed BOTH planes hitting the World Trade Centre), they are out of prison faster than you can say 'master race'. Of course, arrests are rare. After all, how many Israelis were arrested for arming and training the RAPE SQUADS of Idi Amin, or for providing Nuclear Weapons to Apartheid-regime South Africa, or for working with Robert Mugabe in eliminating his opposition in Zimbabwe (to quote just 3 well known examples).
By the way, and a general comment on Blair's Black Propaganda method. When you see TV programs about the 'holocaust', how often do these shows include balance, by condemning all 'illegal' jewish actions against the nazis. It would, of couse, be a nonsense to do that. Rather like talking about a rape, and stating how WICKED it was for the victim to punch and kick and bite her attacker. HOWEVER, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL DOES ***EXACTLY*** THIS.
So if Amnesty international reported on an Israeli raping a palestinian women, it would go something like this. "Amnesty condemns the Israeli rapist, especially for his lack of respect and restraint, and would like to point out that their are many more humane ways to assault a palestinian women. However, Amnesty EQUALLY condemns the palestinian women for her TOTAL lack of consideration to the rapist. Her actions in scratching and biting her attacker are offensive to any reasonable person, and only ensure that she carries some of the blame, and perpetuates the cycle of violence"
Amnesty ONLY EXISTS to apply black propaganda to situations that are actually ONE-SIDED, but where pushing a two-sided lie would benefit Israel, or the US, or the UK.
twilight
Where's the Arab Peace Movement?
15.09.2005 17:30
Included in that inflated number of course are the suicide bombers, honor killing victims and "collaborators" (real peace activists) murdered by the palestinians.
What will the Palestiians do with Gaza? Not much. Already they've destroyed the hothouses purchsed for them by Jewish organizations in the USA. They were left in tact so that the palestinians could grow food for local consumption, fowers for export and 12,000 jobs. In less than a week, that's all gone.
Here's the bloody future for the Gaza:
DEBKAfile: The Palestinians poured their entire Sinai arms dumps into Gaza, taking advantage of four days of unrestricted border transit
September 15, 2005, 4:14 PM (GMT+02:00)
With them came a fresh influx of terrorists, including arrivals from Lebanon.
According to DEBKAfile’s Exclusive’s military sources, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Jihad Islami and other Palestinian groups have poured many tons of explosives, rockets, RPGs and missiles into Gaza. An Israeli officer estimated the quantity would have kept three large Sinai-Rafah arms tunnels busy around the clock for a year.
Thursday, September 15, thousands of Palestinians continued to flock unchecked by Egyptian or Palestinian police across the Gaza-Egyptian border through the Rafah Sultan refugee camp. All the Egyptians are doing is replacing the damaged patches of barbed wire along the Philadelphi route and resealing the holes in the border wall.
Ali ibn Sharmootah