THE Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) on Tuesday condemned a decision by the United Kingdom to grant immunity to Israel’s army chief while visiting the country.
Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces, arrived in the UK on Tuesday, in the first visit of an Israeli army chief since 1998.
The UK government granted Gantz’s trip the status of Special Mission, thus granting him immunity from the UK’s criminal justice system, PCHR said.
Hickman & Rose Solicitors, who represent the victims of General Gantz’s actions together with PCHR, said the decision ‘sends the dangerous message that political considerations will be placed ahead of the rule of law.
‘Credible evidence exists indicating Mr Gantz’s involvement in the commission of war crimes: these allegations should be investigated and, if appropriate, Mr Gantz should be prosecuted,’ PCHR said.
‘He should not be pre-emptively granted immunity by the UK Government, circumventing normal criminal justice procedures.’
General Gantz is accused of involvement in the commission of war crimes, particularly with respect to his role in the November 2012 assault on the Gaza Strip, codenamed Operation Pillar of Defence.
A week earlier, the UK government also applied Special Mission status to the visit of Major General Doron Almog, a retired army official suspected of war crimes, granting him immunity from Britain’s criminal justice system.
Major Almog cancelled his scheduled UK visit at the last minute for unknown reasons.
In 2005, a British court issued an arrest warrant for Major General Almog in relation to the destruction of 59 Palestinian homes in Rafah refugee camp in 2002 as part of a sustained policy of house demolitions in Gaza.
British police were preparing to arrest Almog on suspicion of war crimes after he and his wife flew to the United Kingdom in 2005, but he refused to leave his plane at Heathrow Airport following a tip-off about the arrest warrant and was allowed to return to Israel.
The decision to grant immunity to both Israeli officials ‘sends the clear message that Israel can commit war crimes in the Gaza Strip with impunity,’ PCHR said.
There is a risk, the group said, that Special Missions will be used to protect allies of the government and undermine the ‘basic principle of equal application of the law and the UK’s international legal obligation to seek out and prosecute suspected war criminals’.
• Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas called for Israel to work fast for peace in the region saying that ‘the window for the two-state solution is getting narrower’ because of Israel’s continuing illegal settlement building and its refusal to release prisoners.
Abbas made these statements during a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta.
He went on to say however that he was optimistic for peace with Israel because US Foreign Secretary John Kerry is ‘serious’ and ‘determined’ to reach a solution to the conflict and had made ‘useful’ and ‘constructive proposals’ during his visit to the region last week in order to discuss the resumption of negotiations with Israel.
‘We hope the time will come very soon to sit at the negotiating table to discuss all of the essential issues.’
Abbas continued: ‘However we still need more clarifications and explanation so that we can return to the negotiating table.’
He said Kerry promised to return to the region within a week or more.
Italian Prime Minister Letta echoed Abbas’s line saying he supports Kerry’s efforts, stressing that bilateral talks between the Palestinians and Israelis will solve all the problems.
‘We should not lose this opportunity, it could be the last chance,’ Letta warned.
He said Italy supports the aspirations of the Palestinian people, assuring that ‘we will not leave you alone’.
Abbas reiterated his commitment to the compromise of establishing an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital.
He then made a direct appeal to the Israeli Prime Minister saying: ‘Netanyahu and I do not need to meet in a tent. We can meet either here in my house, or at his home.
‘Nothing is preventing a meeting between us at any moment.
‘We are determined to reach peace with the Israelis. They are our neighbours and we recognise them as such.
‘We and they must live in security and stability. We tell them that time is gold. Time is extremely important given the situation in the region.
‘There is no need for a tent. We will go to him, or he will come to us.’
Israel on the other hand is pressing ahead with its military agenda re-occupying and arming a number of military outposts along the armistice lines on the Golan Heights which have been abandoned and neglected for many years.
With an eye on recent developments in neighbouring Syria, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has decided to dispatch troops to some of the old outposts to refurbish them for use.
A number of months ago cameras and sensors were installed in the outpost, and they were hooked up to the multi-sensor network along the Syrian border that provides real time information to the troops in the area.
The conflict in Syria between the government and armed terrorists backed by the US, UK and France is crossing over the border with Israel with shells landing in Israeli territory.
The outposts along the border were built after the Six-Day War some of which were abandoned after the Yom Kippur War with Syria.
During the Yom Kippur War, one of the outposts was shelled extensively by the Syrian army trying to attack it frontally in order to break through to the central Golan Heights.
• President Abbas is due in Lebanon for a three-day visit to discuss the issue of Palestinian refugees. Palestinian flags and photos of the president have been placed along the roadside leading away from Beirut airport.
Abbas was invited to Lebanon by President Michel Suleiman and will meet with speaker of Lebanon’s parliament Nabih Berri and other officials from prominent Lebanese political parties.
Abbas is expected to discuss recent sectarian violence in Lebanon related to the ongoing conflict in Syria and the position of Palestinian refugees in the country.
The president has urged Palestinian factions not to intervene in internal Lebanese affairs.
PA labour minister Ahmad Majdalani, Deputy PM Ziad Abu Amr, and Abbas aides Nabil Abu Rudeina and Majdi al-Khalidi will accompany the president during the visit.
Deputy secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Front Nathim al-Yousif said he is optimistic about the visit and thanked Lebanon for its support to the Palestinian people. Palestinians are ‘concerned about stability and security in Lebanon’, he added.
The Syrian conflict has raised sectarian tensions in Lebanon, particularly between Shiite residents who back the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and Sunni Lebanese who support the Western-backed uprising.
There are currently over 400,000 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA in Lebanon and the fragile sectarian composition of Lebanese society makes their presence a sensitive issue.
Refugees in the country have long suffered discrimination and are deprived of basic rights.
