Outrage In Israel

There is intense and justified anger in Israel at present after Spain declared it would 'investigate' Israel for 'war crimes' following Operation Cast Lead. Spanish National Court Judge Fernando Andreu says he will redouble his probe of seven top Israeli military and government officials for suspected “crimes against humanity.”

The case was brought to the Spanish court by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, which is represented in Spain by Gonzalo Boyé, a Marxist revolutionary who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for collaborating with the Basque terrorist group ETA. A seven-page court document says the initial evidence suggests that the attack in the densely populated Gaza City, which killed 14 civilians, “should be considered a crime against humanity.” Supporters of the lawsuit say Spain should pursue the suit because it has “universal jurisdiction” in such cases.

Israel has reacted angrily to this blatant hypocrisy by Spain: Knesset Member Aryeh Eldad, has called for Israel to put former Spanish officials on trial for their role in the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999.

His official petition, which was sent to Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, says: “In those bombings, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of innocent civilians were killed because NATO pilots dropped their bombs from extremely high altitudes in order not to endanger themselves. They thus caused mass civilian casualties. It is fitting that the state of Israel try the Spanish political and military leaders for war crimes if Spain does not immediately revoke the charges against the Israeli defense minister and chief of staff.”

And incoming Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called the Spanish probe outrageous. “It’s absurd: Israel is fighting against war criminals and they are charging us with crimes?” said Netanyahu. “There is nothing more ridiculous and absurd than them accusing us, a democracy legitimately protecting itself against terrorists and war criminals, of these crimes; it is absurd and makes a mockery out of international law,” he said.

These same judges have never sought to prosecute any Hamas or Fatah terrorists for war crimes. Nor have they shown much zeal for investigating crimes against humanity in Chechnya or Darfur. Nor have they prosecuted any of the suspected Nazi war criminals who sought refuge in Spain after the end of World War II.