Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., December 18, 2007 Tevet 9, 5768 | | Israel Time: 02:47 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
  Back to Homepage
Rosner's Domain
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Advertising
Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File Hanukkah
Public Security Minister Avi Dichter. (Dan Keinan)
del.icio.us
Digg It!  new
Last update - 16:01 06/12/2007
Dichter cancels U.K. trip over fears of 'war crimes' arrest
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: U.K., Avi Dichter, war crimes 

Public Security Minister Avi Dichter canceled a trip to Britain over concerns he would be arrested due to his involvement in the decision to assassinate the head of Hamas' military wing in July 2002.

Fifteen people were killed in the bombing of Salah Shehade's house in Gaza, among them his wife and three children, when Dichter was head of the Shin Bet security service. He is the first minister to have to deal with a possible arrest.

Dichter was invited to take part in a conference by a British research institute on "the day after" Annapolis. He was supposed to give an address on the diplomatic process.
Advertisement
Dichter contacted the Foreign Ministry and sought an opinion on the matter, among other reasons because of previous cases in which complaints were filed in Britain and arrest warrants were issued on suspicion of war crimes by senior officers who served during the second intifada.

The Foreign Ministry wrote Dichter that it did not recommend he visit Britain because of a high probability that an extreme leftist organization there would file a complaint, which might lead to an arrest warrant. The ministry also wrote that because Dichter was not an official guest of the British government, he did not have immunity from arrest.

Dichter's bureau said in response that the minister does not intend to go to Britain on any type of official or unofficial visit until the matter of the arrest warrant is resolved.

Dichter was already charged in a civil suit in the United States in 2005 for his part in the decision to assassinate Shehade. But in this U.S., this is not a cause for arrest.

British law, however, states that a private individual can file a complaint against another person for offenses such as war crimes. According to the law, such a complaint might lead to the court issuing an arrest warrant, or a summons to criminal investigation or clarification of the complaint by the police, or even the opening of criminal proceedings.

Dichter is the first minister to face this problem, which has mainly affected senior officers in the Israel Defense Forces. Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz, formerly chief of staff, encountered a similar problem when he traveled to Britain in 2002 before becoming defense minister. Other officers in a similar predicament included former chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon and former GOC Southern Command Doron Almog.

In September 2005, Almog flew to London and found that a British police officer was waiting in the terminal with an arrest warrant. Almog remained on the plane and returned to Israel to avoid an embarrassing incident.

Israel has brought up the subject over the past few weeks with the British government. Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni demanded in separate meetings with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband that the British government work seriously to change the law that harms former IDF officers. Miliband said his government was working on the matter but did not promise anything.

After the incident in which Almog was almost arrested, a joint foreign ministry-justice ministry team worked to hire a major law firm in London to represent Israeli officers if they were arrested.

Senior officials met with a number of the most prominent London firms, some of which offered to provide the service pro bono. But none of the firms were hired, and the idea was set aside.


Related articles:
  • New Zealand cancels Ya'alon warrant after he leaves
  • Israel may provide counsel to officials in war crimes trials overseas
  • Israel allocates $1m for officers facing war-crime charges
  • IDF general escapes arrest by London police's anti-terrorist unit
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us
    Groundbreaking discovery
    Israeli research is among '50 most significant scientific breakthroughs in 2007.'
    Floating the PA
    International donors pledged $7.4 billion to help boost the PA economy .
      1.   war crimes arrest 04:01  |  Shmuelshachor 06/12/07
      2.   so what 04:19  |  vik 06/12/07
      3.   "Extreme leftist organization" = human rights activists 05:22  |  peacelover 06/12/07
      4.   The real war crimes 06:57  |  Ricardo 06/12/07
      5.   Extreme leftists IS NOT EQUAL human rights activists 07:13  |  Alan 06/12/07
      6.   on "Human rights" activism 07:34  |  US analyst 06/12/07
      7.   British War Crimes, they are endless.! 07:41  |  Stephen. 06/12/07
      8.   criminal, criminal, criminal 07:45  |  HR activist 06/12/07
      9.   WHAT GOES AROUND, ,,, 07:48  |  indrajaya 06/12/07
      10.   Britain killed 2 million jews?! Ricardo 08:01  |  Steve the Pals. 06/12/07
      11.   Be A Man Representing Israel 08:04  |  Raoul 06/12/07
      12.   vik #2 08:06  |  democrat 06/12/07
      13.   murderers and cowards; one and the same! 08:08  |  eric 06/12/07
      14.   Indrajaya 08:19  |  Edifice 06/12/07
      15.   #2 You might want to research what the actual crim was, vik 08:23  |  Johnboy 06/12/07
      16.   really ironic 08:23  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 06/12/07
      17.   To Ricardo, he is wrong, not Britain 08:39  |  Dav 06/12/07
      18.   Some get upset that bonny prince charlie (BIG ears) 08:47  |  Ari ben Yisrael 06/12/07
      19.   To Dav # 17 08:51  |  Garry 06/12/07
      20.   Get this in your sick head 08:52  |  Dav 06/12/07
      21.   What Goes Around- Indrajaya #9 08:54  |  Garry 06/12/07
      22.   There are still judges in Europe 08:59  |  Fritz Teich 06/12/07
      23.   # 14, EDIFICE 09:06  |  indrajaya 06/12/07
      24.   # 14, EDIFICE 09:07  |  indrajaya 06/12/07
      25.   Nobody filed an arrest request against that Saudi prince 09:13  |  Jasmine Murphy 06/12/07
      26.   Chucklesome start to the day 09:16  |  Clickfool 06/12/07
      27.   Lots of brown-nosing Jews heading up UK law firms 09:18  |  Clickfool 06/12/07
      28.   Changing the Law is a Good Idea 09:37  |  Doug McFarlan 06/12/07
      29.   yakovi-bull 09:39  |  yakov 06/12/07
      30.   Yeah, yeah, yeah, this conflict is taking a heavy toll..... 09:40  |  Swiss (Dino) 06/12/07
      31.   # 21, GARRY 09:42  |  indrajaya 06/12/07
      32.   arrest warrant 09:43  |  Mark 06/12/07
      33.   For Stephen, on London # 7 09:46  |  Clickfool 06/12/07
      34.   #19 GARRY... 09:59  |  PADDY 06/12/07
      35.   Come and face a court in a democratic country 10:00  |  Khalil Jean Butros 06/12/07
      36.   He has guilty conscience 10:02  |  Chanalau, Tova 06/12/07
      37.   To Clickfool. 10:03  |  David Nigel Braham 06/12/07
      38.   CFOOL Lots of brown-nosers brown-nose here for the Arabs 10:13  |  PETER S.M. 06/12/07
      39.   "PEACELOVER" extreme leftist organisations active when it suits. 10:17  |  PETER S.M. 06/12/07
      40.   To Indrajaya & Clickfool. Justice for all 10:20  |  Altalena 06/12/07
      41.   HR "activist"You language is more in line with Hamas 10:21  |  PETER S.M. 06/12/07
      42.   Arrest Brit war "veterans" on holidays abroad,they bombed Dresden 10:22  |  Absolute Sweden 06/12/07
      43.   HE IS A CRIMINAL AND SHOULD BE ARRESTED 10:23  |  TrippleJump 06/12/07
      44.   The Zionist Entreprise is full of war criminals.... 10:24  |  Arthur 06/12/07
      45.   NAZIS practices....that`s what they are 10:26  |  Eric 06/12/07
      46.   ARREST, PROSECUTE and JAIL HIM 10:27  |  Drogba 06/12/07
      47.   #13eric calling the pot black again 10:28  |  victor hardman 06/12/07
      48.   eric.cowards hide amongt their women& send their children out 10:29  |  PETER S.M. 06/12/07
      49.   He is not the only war criminal in Israel.. there are MANY others 10:29  |  James 06/12/07
      50.   Re Click #26, 27 10:31  |  Esther 06/12/07
      51.   #27 boris clickfool and the nelsonian telescope 10:31  |  v hardman 06/12/07
      52.   ISRAEL SEEKING IMMUNITY FOR ITS WAR CRIMINIALS!! 10:32  |  Patrick 06/12/07
      53.   There should be a black list of war criminals worldwide 10:34  |  Daniel 06/12/07
      54.   samuelschactor 1 10:36  |  realism 06/12/07
      55.   I WILL FILE CRIMINANL COMPLAINT AGAINST HIM... 10:37  |  British Citizen 06/12/07
      56.   #26 Clickfool 10:38  |  Sarah 06/12/07
      57.   Hamas,Hisbollah etc 10:39  |  Harry 06/12/07
      58.   Zionists = bunch of war criminals 10:39  |  Croko 06/12/07
      59.   ISRAELI MILITARY FEARING ARREST, BECAUSE THEY KNOW... 10:41  |  TrippleJump 06/12/07
      60.   they will never respect you before you nuke Berlin and Teheran 10:50  |  HARRY TRUMANN 06/12/07
      61.   to Garry 10:50  |  Harry 06/12/07
      62.   the Brits would never kill citizens 10:52  |  German from Dresden 06/12/07
      63.   A Wise Decision 10:54  |  Yaakov Sullivan 06/12/07
      64.   to british citizen 11:04  |  Harry 06/12/07
      65.   For David Nigel Braham # 31 11:05  |  Clickfool 06/12/07
      66.   So Retaliate 11:08  |  Jeff Northridge 06/12/07
      67.   ZIONISM= ILLEGIMATE CHILD OF NAZISM 11:12  |  DominoBox 06/12/07
      68.   Legitimate targets 11:14  |  Yonatan 06/12/07
      69.   Arrest the royal family 11:16  |  Yonatan 06/12/07
      70.   #55 and how many are from britain and the usa russia 11:16  |  victor hardman 06/12/07
      71.   To all pro terrorist activist 11:17  |  Iron Fist 06/12/07
      72.   PLEASE HELP ME, I AM FALLING 11:17  |  ZIONIZM 06/12/07
      73.   To Harry#64... WE TARGET ANYONE, ANY NATIONALITY 11:18  |  British Citizen 06/12/07
      74.   #63 James ("Yaakov") Sullivan - an enemy of the Jewish People 11:21  |  Sean O`Yonatan 06/12/07
      75.   Its a sticky issue, but most of what Israel does are war crimes 11:22  |  1 state solution 06/12/07
      76.   To 55 British citizen 11:24  |  Walter 06/12/07
      77.   For Clickfool. 11:26  |  David Nigel Braham 06/12/07
      78.   Harry and his assumptions #64 11:28  |  Yaakov Sullivan 06/12/07
      79.   a taste of things to come 11:28  |  Raymond Deane 06/12/07
      80.