Norwegian lawyers charge top Israeli officials with war crimes

Wednesday April 22, 2009 12:44 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

A group of lawyers in Norway have filed charges with that nations top prosecutor against former Israeli occupation government prime minister, Ehud Olmert, former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, and defense minister Ehud Barak, accusing them of war crimes.

The charges stem from the Israeli government's attack on the Gaza Strip beginning in late December 2008, which the lawyers say violated international law by illegally targeting civilians, using internationally-banned weapons and attacking hospitals and medical personnel.

In Norway, the tenet of 'universal jurisdiction' allows lawyers to file charges against people in other countries, including leaders and officials of other countries, if there is evidence of war crimes or other violations of international law.

The case is being brought on behalf of three people of Palestinian origin living in Norway and 20 families who lost loved ones or property during the attack, according to the lawyers.

The lawyers said they could not stand silent in the face of what they termed Israel's 'war crimes' in Gaza. They said in their statement, "There can be no doubt that these subjects knew about, ordered or approved the actions in Gaza and that they had considered the consequences of these actions."

Similar charges filed in Spain last month were later revoked after pressure from the Israeli government and lobbyists threatened to change the very nature of the Spanish judiciary. Lawyers backed down from the charges after the pressure campaign, saying that the 'universal jurisdiction' in that country did not apply if an investigation is ongoing within the offending country. Although Israel has claimed that their military conducted 'investigations' of the military's actions in Gaza, but no on-the-ground evidence was actually gathered during the investigation, leading many observers worldwide to question its legitimacy.

The Norwegian lawyers said that the potential for diplomatic problems between their government and Israel was outweighed by the severity of the crimes in the case.

Norwegian lawyers to sue Israeli leaders for war crimes

[ 22/04/2009 - 10:48 AM ]

NORWAY, (PIC)--

A galaxy of Norwegian lawyers is expected to file a lawsuit on Wednesday with the Norwegian attorney general against Israeli leaders who committed war crimes during the last war on the Gaza Strip.

According to a press statement, the Norwegian lawyers will file the lawsuit after they obtained all needed evidence that proved the involvement of Israeli political and military leaders in deliberate killing of Palestinian civilians and destruction of private and public property with the aim of terrorizing innocent people and prompting them to overthrow the Hamas Movement.

The lawyers also accuse Israeli leaders of being involved in planned attacks on health centers, hospitals, ambulances, medical crews and public and private transport.

The lawsuit includes charges of practicing organized terrorism and using internationally banned weapons such as white phosphorus against Gaza people.

The complaint is submitted pursuant to articles 102 and 109 of the Norwegian penal code relevant to war crimes and gross violations of international humanitarian law.

The lawsuit demands the arrest and extradition of former Israeli premier Ehud Olmert as well as his foreign affairs minister Tzipi Livni, and war minister Ehud Barak in addition to other senior Israeli military officers.

In a related context, Dr. Zia Al-Madhoun, the head of "Documentation" committee assigned by the Palestinian government to document Israeli crimes, said that his committee completed the documentation of Israeli war crimes and now gets prepared to move internationally and file lawsuits against Israeli leaders with international courts.

During a meeting of the committee held Tuesday, Dr. Madhoun affirmed that his committee is in constant contact with international institutions, centers and international law experts in order to coordinate efforts in this regard, noting that the committee documented the profiles in a professional manner and in accordance with international standards.