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Israelis to File Charges Against Arafat in Belgium
Reuters ^

Posted on 11/22/2001 8:14:19 AM PST by madrussian

By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Lawyers representing Israeli casualties of attacks by Palestinians flew to Brussels on Thursday to petition a Belgian court to try Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) for alleged crimes against humanity.

A 1993 law allows Belgian courts to prosecute foreigners for human rights violations committed outside Belgium.

Two lawsuits were filed in Brussels earlier this year against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) over the 1982 massacre of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila camps near Beirut by Lebanese Christian militia allied to Israel.

An Israeli inquiry in 1983 found Sharon indirectly responsible.

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat called the planned lawsuit against Arafat ``a political step to distract the attention of the world from the war crimes (charges) Sharon is facing.''

One of the lawyers representing 30 claimants in the Israeli group, called the Terror Victims Association, said there was no connection between their suit and the one against Sharon.

``Our researchers were at work on our case -- which deals with crimes dating back more than a quarter-century -- well before the Sharon case came about,'' group attorney Yaacov Rubin, former head of the Israeli Bar Association, told reporters.

The lawsuit requires the approval of a special magistrate before it can be pursued.

The Sharon suit is still being assessed to determine whether he is immune as a serving prime minister, and whether he can be held responsible for an incident which predates the Belgian law.

PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA

Similar complications face the Israeli suit, according to an expert in European law.

``The complainants will have to prove that they were all personally victimized by Palestinian violence, and they are not simply trying to offset the Sharon suit,'' Tel Aviv-based analyst Marc Daugherty told Reuters.

``Another challenge will be establishing Yasser Arafat's command culpability in each incident.''

One of the claimants, Arie Buznah, said he suffers psychological trauma in a 1974 attack by Palestinian gunmen on a group of high school students on a field trip in northern Israel.

Twenty-two teenagers were killed in the northern town of Maalot and 60 wounded.

``The terrorists' commander was (Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine leader) Nayef Hawatmeh, but he answered to Yasser Arafat, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (news - web sites),'' said Buznah.

Other petitioners included relatives of soldiers killed by Palestinians resisting Israel's occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (news - web sites).

Israel seized the territories during the 1967 Middle East war and Palestinians began an uprising against the occupation almost 14 months ago.

Attorney Yehudit Shachor, whose son was killed by Palestinian militants while hiking in the Judean Desert in 1995, said she was aware the lawsuit might not be approved, but that it should still be filed.

``Arafat has become the world's darling, and we have to present him as the arch-terrorist that he is,'' said Shachor, a member of the delegation that flew to Belgium.

Erekat rejected the charge. ``The whole world knows that President Arafat is not a war criminal,'' he told Reuters. ``He is defending the freedom of his people and its independence and he is struggling to achieve peace.''

Another group, the New York-based World Committee for Justice and Peace, said it planned to file suit against Arafat in Belgium on behalf of 20 Israeli claimants.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: michaeldobbs
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1 posted on 11/22/2001 8:14:19 AM PST by madrussian
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To: CommiesOut
Reuters, eh? Waiting for Kosher Kommissar Krew to register.
2 posted on 11/22/2001 8:14:54 AM PST by madrussian
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To: madrussian
First - hang the lawyers.

If we have not already proven the idiocy of world tribunals, extra territorial prosecution for crimes made up on the spot, or the cult of victimhood: the upcoming tide of finger pointing and legal fever dreams will (should) surely do the job.

3 posted on 11/22/2001 8:45:53 AM PST by norton
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To: madrussian
Reuters? Bunch of worthless commies.
4 posted on 11/22/2001 8:53:31 AM PST by CommiesOut
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To: *zion_ist; SJackson; anapikoros; white trash redneck; sheik yerbouty; Inyokern; Anamensis...
IFC bump!
5 posted on 11/22/2001 9:08:55 AM PST by Alouette
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To: Alouette
Turn about is fair play! Let Israel embarrass these idiots Belgique!
6 posted on 11/22/2001 9:42:24 AM PST by dennisw
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To: madrussian
Excellent! With luck, both Sharon and Arafat will be removed and the peace process can resume.
7 posted on 11/22/2001 10:10:54 AM PST by owl
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To: madrussian
And fans of Lokomotiv and Dinamo are nazis.
8 posted on 11/22/2001 10:19:23 AM PST by CommiesOut
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To: dennisw
Who is filing against bin Laden in Belgium?
9 posted on 11/22/2001 10:29:02 AM PST by TrueBeliever9
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To: Alouette
Let's see if the Europeans have grown out of their bigoted attitudes since the 40's. It would be something if they actually called murder "murder" instead of the most popular PC term of the day.
10 posted on 11/22/2001 10:51:20 AM PST by hsszionist
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Comment #11 Removed by Moderator

To: madrussian
Well it's about freakin' time. Unfortunately many of the direct victims of Arafat cannot file suit from 6 feet under. And others live in Jordan & Lebanon and are muzzled by their governments -- making it impossible for them to file charges themselves -- or muzzled by the threat of a fatwa.

Does the Belgian law require direct connection to the alleged act? Can an unrelated third party file on behalf of victims who are unable to speak for themselves?

12 posted on 11/22/2001 12:12:01 PM PST by monkeyshine
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To: TrueBeliever9
Yep. If Belgium really wants to do this, the world can load up their court dockets for years and years.
13 posted on 11/22/2001 12:14:35 PM PST by monkeyshine
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To: owl
LOL. Sharon was practically irrelevant until the Intifada. Sharon will be out again by a fair electoral process. Arafat will not go until he dies or becomes incapacitated.
14 posted on 11/22/2001 12:16:25 PM PST by monkeyshine
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To: monkeyshine
And Bibi will be the next PM! See how the palies like that!
15 posted on 11/22/2001 2:40:14 PM PST by onyx
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To: blackbag; The Documentary Lady; Yehuda; Patria One; RCW2001; damian5
Good things happen every day.
16 posted on 11/22/2001 9:49:05 PM PST by veronica
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To: CommiesOut
Lokomotiv just lost 2-1 to Hapoel Tel-Aviv
17 posted on 11/23/2001 12:27:03 AM PST by Michael2001
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To: CommiesOut
And fans of Lokomotiv and Dinamo are nazis.

What about Spartak M? I was unfortunate enought to be stuck on the same metro with them after a match. When they weren't trying to tip the wagon over, they were shouting 'lampotchki, lampotchki' whilst smashing all the lights....

VRN

18 posted on 11/23/2001 1:52:38 AM PST by Voronin
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Comment #19 Removed by Moderator

To: The Documentary Lady
Isn't Sharon wanted in the Hague?

No.

20 posted on 11/23/2001 5:56:15 AM PST by Alouette
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