PAJU (Palestinian and Jewish Unity) # 508, Nov 5th, 2010
Israel’s Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister Dan Meridor cancelled a visit to London England on Monday, after receiving information that he might face a lawsuit or an arrest warrant upon arrival.
The Foreign Ministry and the Justice Ministry notified Meridor that he might face charges connected to his role in the Israeli army’s assault on the Gaza-bound ship Mavi Marmara on May 31, 2010. The Israeli raid resulted in the deaths of 9 Turkish activists. Meridor refused to comment on the reasons for the cancellation of his trip.
Meridor is member of a forum of seven ministers that advises Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The forum discussed the arrival of the Gaza-bound flotilla in a meeting that took place on May 26, according to Netanyahu’s testimony before a committee investigating the raid. However, Netanyahu denied in his testimony that the forum had discussed the details of the military operation.
This is not the first case of an Israeli politician facing criminal charges in Britain. In 2009, a British court issued an arrest warrant for Tzipi Livni over war crimes committed in Gaza while she served as Israel’s foreign minister. Livni cancelled her trip to London as a result of information about the warrant issued against her. Livni served as foreign minister alongside Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister Ehud Barak during the Israeli army’s offensive in Gaza. The three figures comprised the “troika” of top decision-makers who charted the course of the war.
In 2005, a retired Israeli general, Doron Almog, returned to Israel immediately after landing in London because he was tipped off that British police planned to arrest him on war crimes charges. Almog oversaw the bombing of a Gaza home in which 14 people were killed, including many children. Other Israeli leaders, including former military chief Moshe Ya’alon and ex-internal security chief Avi Dichter, have also cancelled trips to Britain in recent years for fear of being tried for war crimes.
Adapted from the article “Deputy PM Meridor cancels London visit following lawsuit threat”, written by Barak Ravid and published in Israel’s leading newspaper Ha’aretz. See: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/deputy-pm-meridor-cancels-london-visit-following-lawsuit-threat-1.322328
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