Netanyahu ordered evacuation of Hebron home over fears of war crimes suits
AG's fear of legal action against Israeli officials at The Hague also reason for state's hesitance regarding authorization of the Ulpana Hill West Bank outpost.
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the evacuation of a Hebron home taken by settlers last month
after being informed that the expropriation of Palestinian homes and lands
could complicate Israeli officials in war crimes litigation, Haaretz learned on
Sunday.
Last
month, Israeli security forces evacuated Israeli settlers from a house in a Palestinian
neighborhood in Hebron, in a surprise move that
ended an affair that sparked controversy across Israel and caused a rift in the
government.
Senior
officials in the prime minister's office said at the time that the evacuation
was carried out after careful coordination between the defense minister and the
prime minister. Nevertheless, Netanyahu's aides went on the defensive against
right-wing criticism and said that the premier had no choice but to approve the
evacuation out of security and legal consideration.
The
aides said that during the late night discussion prior to the evacuation no
decisions were made regarding the immediate evacuation of the house.
However,
in a meeting between Netanyahu, Barak, and Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein on
the morning of the evacuation, the AG reportedly presented his legal opinion,
according to which a lack of strict adherence to the law on the matter could
complicate Israel
in an international legal crisis.
Weinstein
reportedly told Netanyahu and Barak that the expropriation of Palestinian land
and homes, such as the Hebron takeover, could
lead to Israeli officials being indicted at the International Criminal Court in
The Hague.
Barak
then claimed that the house must be evacuated before the Passover holiday,
which led to Netanyahu's order to clear the Hebron outpost.
Sources
in the Justice Ministry indicated that they fear the State of Israel or Israeli
officials could be charged by the ICC, in operation since 2002. According to
the Fourth Geneva Convention, an occupier moving population into occupied land
constitutes a war crime.
Weinstein
also repeated his stance concerning the contentious Ulpana Hill neighborhood of
the West Bank settlement of Beit El.
The
AG also expressed his opinion concerning the kind of High Court-bypassing laws
suggested by some in the right in order to sanction outposts and settlements
found illegal by the court.
Weinstein
reportedly expressed the legal system's opposition to the legislation of such
laws and warned against what he said were the far-reaching legal consequences
of such legislation, since the High Court is viewed around the world as a check
maintaining the rule of law.
As
of now, among the team of ministers dealing with the issue, Netanyahu, Barak,
and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon oppose such a law, citing, among
other reasons, the AG's opposition. Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar, however,
supports such legislation, with the stance of new Vice Prime Minister Shaul
Mofaz not yet clear.
A
spokesperson at the Justice Ministry refused to comment on the issue.
Earlier
Sunday, a ministerial legislation panel rejected
a bill geared at applying Israeli law on settlements in the West Bank, following an intervention by Justice Minister
Yaakov Neeman.
The
justice minister's move came after it had become apparent that the bill would
pass the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, after nine of the panel's
members indicated that they would back the legislation.
At that point, Neeman attempted to convince the bill's initiator Likud MK Miri Regev to postpone the vote to a later date, in a bid to avert a head-on collision between Netanyahu's government and the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama.
At that point, Neeman attempted to convince the bill's initiator Likud MK Miri Regev to postpone the vote to a later date, in a bid to avert a head-on collision between Netanyahu's government and the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama.
As
a result of Regev's continued insistence, Neeman made it clear that it was
Netanyahu's position to vote against the bill, at which point panel members
reversed their original votes.
_______________________________________________________________________
Former President Moshe Katsav gets 7 years in jail for rape.Katsav also receives two years probation and is ordered to pay NIS 125,000 compensation to his victims; judges: No man is above the law.
Former
President of the State of Israel
Moshe Katsav was sentenced to seven years in jail
Tuesday, for after he had previously been found guilty of rape and other sexual
offenses.
The
court also ruled that Katsav must also serve two years of probation and pay NIS
100,000 to his rape victim, a former employee of the Tourism Ministry known as
A., and to pay NIS 25,000 to L., a former employee of the President's
Residence, whom he had sexually harrased and abused.
Katsav
will begin serving his sentence on May 8, 2011.
In
December, the Tel Aviv District Court judges, George Karra, Judith Shevach and
Miriam Sokolov, handed down a unanimous verdict on Katsav's case after
complaints had surfaced of sexual offenses against various subordinates during
Katsav’s terms as tourism minister and president.
"On
December 30, 2010, the defendant was convicted of committing serious sexual
offenses against women who were subordinate to him," the judges ruled in a
majority opinion.
"The
crime of rape damages and destroys a person's soul… Due to the severity of the
crime, the punishment must be clear and precise," the judges said.
"The
defendant committed the crime and like every other person, he must bear the
consequences. No man is above the law."
"The
contention that seeing a former president of the country go to jail is too
painful to watch is an emotional argument, but it definitely cannot be accepted
as an ethical argument."
A.
from the Tourism Ministry, the main complainant in the case against Katsav,
expressed satisfaction at the judges' sentence.
"Even
though this is not a happy day for me, I definitely feel fulfilled and
satisfied with the sentence - which fits the grave acts that were outlined in
the court ruling," said A..
A. added
that she did not put an "extreme importance" on the sentencing,
saying she cared most about the court ruling in December which showed that the
court believed her and did her justice.
"I
would like to return to my life, my family and my anonymity. I am happy that
this sad affair is nearing its end."
The
former president and Likud minister was convicted of raping and sexually
assaulting A. - a former employee of the Tourism Ministry while he was
minister. He was also found guilty of sexually harassing H., of sexually
abusing and harassing L. from the President’s Residence and obstruction of
justice.
The
year-long trial took place almost entirely behind closed doors and left the
public wondering whether the 65-year-old Katsav was wise to drop out of a plea
bargain two years ago.
The plea deal meant Katsav would not face
the most serious charges and promised him a suspended sentence at worse, but
the former president decided to prove his innocence in court.
_______________________________________________________________________
European Union to slam Israel's actions in West Bank
Netanyahu envoy Isaac Molho delivers letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
By
Barak Ravid
May, 13, 2012 12:42 AM
The
27 foreign ministers of the European Union are expected Monday to issue a harsh
denunciation of Israel's
activities on the West Bank. The EU's Foreign
Affairs Council will criticize violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinians
and will call on Israel to
remove restrictions on Palestinian construction and economic development
projects in Area C of the West Bank, which
under the Oslo Accords was under exclusive Israeli control.
The
condemnation, contained in an official council conclusion, is exceptional
because of its length - three pages - as well as its detailed accounting of
Israeli actions in the West Bank in the past
several months. According to a high-ranking European diplomat who has seen a
draft of the resolution, the EU foreign ministers will rebuke Israel for the expansion of settlements in the
West Bank and East Jerusalem. They will
denounce settler violence against Palestinians and call on the Israeli
government to prosecute such actions.
Meanwhile,
at a meeting in Ramallah on Saturday Netanyahu's envoy for the peace process,
attorney Isaac Molho, gave Abbas a letter from Netanyahu on the impasse in the
peace process. It was a response to a letter to Netanyahu from Abbas from a few
weeks ago, in which the PA leader blamed Israel for the derailment of the
peace process.
A
senior Israeli official said that in his response Netanyahu called for the
immediate resumption of talks without preconditions, but did not propose any
new ideas.
Before
meeting with Molho, Abbas spoke on the phone with U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton. The EU resolution demands that Israel
allow Palestinians to build houses and be allowed more freedom to pursue
economic activity in Area C, which comprises more than half of the area of the West Bank.
Additionally,
it calls on Israel
to allow the EU to help the Palestinians to build economic infrastructure projects
and to refrain from destroying them, as has happened a few times in the past
few months.
EU
foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was behind the conclusion, which has the
support of the French, British and German foreign ministers.
A
senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official said that in the past two weeks Israel
has tried to block the conclusion. Israeli ambassadors in a number of European
capitals filed vehement protests to their host government, in which they argued
that the resolution would complicate efforts to renew peace negotiations
between Israel
and the Palestinians. They also argued that the new unity government in Jerusalem is in a strong
position to renew the peace talks, and that a negative message from EU foreign
ministers would only encourage Palestinian intransigence.
The
United States, Italy and the Netherlands also tried to help
soften the wording of the conclusion, to little effect. Only minor changes were
made in the resolution, which is expected to gain approval on Monday.
"The
resolution portrays the situation on the ground," a senior European
diplomat said. "The moment Ashton, the Germans, the French and the British
pushed this forward the process could not be stopped."
In its bid to forestall the resolution Israel
pointed to the recent exchange of letters between Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
_______________________________________________________________________
Israel transformed from democracy to an oligarchy
Those who are on the sidelines and are forced to wait their turn have only been able to substantiate half of their claims - that the current leaders are unworthy.
A
lieutenant colonel reservist in the Israeli Air Force brought his car to a halt
and rolled down the window, the morning after Shaul Mofaz deserted the
opposition and joined the government. "Why do they lie to us like
this?" he asked. "These are our commanders, people who demand
complete accountability, and who send us out to battle." Then he drove on
to his job in a security factory, where he produced another war weapon.
Tomorrow,
at the Hatzor base, Amir Eshel will take the reins of command at the IAF,
replacing Ido Nechushtan. Superiors (the Chief of Staff and government
ministers ), peers (major generals ) and subordinates expect that the IAF
commander will act with integrity, disclose nothing but the truth, not conceal
hard facts and refrain from issuing empty promises. A pilot or air force
technician would be ousted and jailed were he to act in the duplicitous manner
adopted by the political leadership, those heads of state who are in charge of
the army. When the government is constituted of lies, and more lies, every
soldier, and every civilian, is entitled to doubt the set of calculations that
motivate fateful policy decisions.
Since
last week, Israel
has been governed by an oligarchy. These are self-styled lords of the manor who
have power over civil and military sectors, and share the spoils of rule
between themselves. The subjects can talk, but have no influence. Israel has been
transformed from the only democracy in the region, to a democracy where power
is held by only a few. Nothing will change during the next national elections,
which have been postponed.
One
damaging result of the widely-felt disillusionment and sense of helplessness to
do anything about the politicians' machinations is the rise of apathy. Voter
turnout, which could have been a palpable reflection of social ferment and
protest, is liable to decline. Many citizens, perhaps more than ever before,
sense that there is no point in casting ballots. They have trouble identifying
with any of the existing parties, whose leaders will strike alliances at the
conclusion of the elections, to divvy up the spoils of power.
The
most effective device wielded by the leaders to preserve their hegemony is the
cooling-off laws, the rules barring discharged IDF officers and retired
security officials from entering public service for defined periods of time.
The idea behind this law is to prevent top IDF officers and security figures
from taking their future political careers into account in a way that
prejudices their judgment while they serve in sensitive positions. The old
situation which enabled officers to leap into politics just a few months, weeks
or even hours (as in Ezer Weizman's case ) after they left the army was
insufferable.
Now
the pendulum is swinging in the opposite direction, with cooling-off schemes
mandating a three-year waiting period, or forcing a discharged officer to wait
for the second election season after he leaves the army. These ideas are
erroneous. They leave on the sidelines a capable crew of people who could
contribute to civilian life; instead of serving the country in new roles, such
people will be forced to sit on the national bench for several full seasons.
Those
who are legislating the waiting period rule are politicians who would not have
become ministers or MKs during the past two decades, had their own new rules
prevailed at the time. These lawmakers have prevented future rivals from
running for office, but they can't stop them from speaking out. The waiting
period is not solitary confinement, and it encourages derailed, would-be
politicians to shout out from the sidelines. In fact, the fact that they are
suspended lends credibility to their accusations and warnings: Nobody can say
that such sidelined figures speak out of narrow self-interest, since they have
no hope of running for office in the near future.
This
is a group of sidelined figures who do not constitute one ideological bloc.
They are not likely to end up in the same political party, and they have little
in common other than revulsion for Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak. Joining
the group is Tzipi Livni, who has voluntarily imposed upon herself a waiting
period. Their situation is akin to that of Yitzhak Rabin in politics, and
Mordechai Gur in the army, in the fall of 1973: on the sidelines, they are
ready to spring into action when the current leadership does its utmost to
bring about a catastrophe. Netanyahu himself left the sidelines in 2002, as did
Barak in 2007.
Those
who are on the sidelines and are forced to wait their turn have only been able
to substantiate half of their claims - that the current leaders are unworthy.
Yet these politicians-in-waiting have yet to prove that they are different, and
will not succumb to the temptation of stooping as low as a politician can
possibly sink, in order to reach the pinnacle of power.
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