How did the war crimes effect Israeli officials?”
srael warns Britain on war crimes warrant By AMY TEIBEL (AP) – 8 hours ago JERUSALEM — Israel’s prime minister on Tuesday called a British arrest warrant against the country’s former foreign minister “an absurdity” and warned that attempts to prosecute Israeli officials for war crimes charges over last winter’s Gaza offensive could harm relations between the two countries. Benjamin Netanyahu also had his top aide Uzi Arad tell the British ambassador that Israel expected London to work to thwart such attempts, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office. Israel, Arad told the ambassador, “expects the British government to act against this immoral phenomenon that attempts to damage Israel’s right to self defense,” according to the statement. Netanyahu rejected the notion that leaders and army officers “who defended our civilians bravely and morally against a despicable and brutal enemy could be branded war criminals. We firmly reject this absurdity.” Britain’s Foreign Offic
The 344-36 House vote last week condemning the Goldstone Report, which encourages Israel and Hamas to conduct “credible” independent investigations of war crimes committed in Gaza, may help Israeli leaders avoid prosecution in the short-term. However, the House vote and the negative US votes at the UN will have long-term detrimental effects both on Israel and on the U.S.’s moral authority. Consider that within the UN General Assembly, 110 nations endorsed the Report, while the U.S. was among the minority of 18 nations that voted against the endorsement. The Congressional vote will increase the likelihood of a worldwide campaign to push the UN General Assembly, the International Criminal Court, or other countries, under universal jurisdiction, to hold Israel to account for war crimes committed in Gaza. Self-defense is of utmost concern because self-defense was a central element of Israel’s ongoing argument for the war and is the heart of the U.S.’s rejection of Goldstone. Israeli offici
