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TechnoratiSpain Investigates Claims of Israeli Crimes Against Humanity in Gaza
Former defence minister and six others accused over 2002 bombing that killed 15 people, mostly babies and children
MADRID - A Spanish judge today opened preliminary investigations into claims that a 2002 bomb attack on Gaza warranted the prosecution of a former Israeli defence minister and six senior military officers for crimes against humanity.
![[People gather at the site of destroyed buildings following an Israeli air strike overnight in central Gaza City, July 23 2002, which killed Hamas leader Salah Shehada and 14 civilians. A Spanish judge agreed Thursday to pursue a complaint of crimes against humanity against Israel's army over the 2002 bombing raid, a judicial source said. (AFP/File/Fayez Nureldine)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/gaza2002.jpg "gaza2002.jpg")
Judge Fernando Andreu agreed to investigate the deaths of 15 Palestinians, mostly babies and children, who died when the Israeli air force bombed a target in Gaza City.
He named the former defence minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer, the former defence chief-of-staff Moshe Ya'alon, the former air force chief Dan Halutz and four others.
Andreu, an investigating magistrate at the national court in Madrid, said evidence presented to his court showed the seven men may have committed the sort of crimes against humanity which Spain was bound by international laws to prosecute.
The magistrate accepted that the aim of the 2002 attack had been to kill Saleh Shehadeh, who he described as a suspected leader of "the terrorist group called Hamas".
But the Israeli air force appeared to have dropped such a huge bomb on Shehadeh's house that it was inevitably going to kill many other innocent people living nearby, Andreu said.
Israeli authorities had not replied to his request for information on the case after the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights presented a writ in the victims' names last April.
"These events can and should be investigated by Spanish courts, especially as there has been no reply at all to this court's request for relevant information from the State of Israel," he said.
"Between 11.30pm and midnight on July 22 2002, a one-ton bomb was dropped by an Israeli air force F-16 on the al-Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City," Andreu said in a court document laying out the evidence presented to him. "The objective was the house of Salah Shehadeh, suspected of being a Hamas leader and the intention was to kill him.
"Salah Shehadeh's house took a direct hit from a highly powerful bomb, even though it was situated in one of the world's most densely populated residential zones," he said.
Most of the victims represented in the case were related to a Mr Mattar, who lived in the house next door.
"The two houses were less than two metres apart," the magistrate said. "As a result of the attack his home was destroyed and seven members of his family were killed."
Fifteen people, including Shehadeh, died and a further 150 were said to have been injured.
Andreu is acting under a doctrine that allows prosecution in Spain of alleged crimes against humanity or crimes such as terrorism or genocide, even if they are committed in another country.
Spanish magistrates have used the doctrine to pursue a number of current or former government leaders, but convictions or extraditions have been rare.
Spain's national court, which has tried and jailed human rights abusers from Latin American countries in recent years, has become a first stop for people wanting to bring cases under international human rights laws.
Israel's former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said, "It's absurd; Israel is fighting against war criminals and they are charging us with crimes? There is nothing more ridiculous and absurd than them accusing us, a democracy legitimately protecting itself against terrorists and war criminals, of these crimes; it is absurd and makes a mockery out of international law," Netanyahu said.
25 Comments so far
Show AllWon't be long until Rush and Hannity add Spain to the axis of evil.
I don't need more photos of the holocaust to feel guilty for what my German cousins did to the Jews during WWII, while my French cousins and English brothers stood and watched until the madman came after them. It was a terrible thing, but the BS of telling the world the West Bank settlements will be removed at the same time more are being built, and the 100 eyes for an eye policy have to stop. From what I read, many or most Israelis are shocked at what their government is doing in Gaza.
With some respect and honest lobbying, the Iranians might come around to accepting the two state solution before Israel (really) does.
Thank you for your insight and sense of humor.
It turns out -- see UN General Assembly Resolution on the Peaceful Settlement of the Palestine Question GA/10791, November, 2008 -- that Iran has already accepted
a two-state solution. In a 164-7 vote the United States and Israel stood alone in the world with Australia,the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau in opposing a two-state solution.
First let us agree not to be anti-semitic. Second let us agree to not be anti- people.Of course we can condemn actions of persons and peoples; but let us concentrate on abolishing and altering systems and concepts; such as predatory capitalism, predatory zionism, racism, imperialism,coporate personhood, fascism and war.
Certainly we should strongly support bringing war criminals to justice, where ever they are; Congo, USA, Sudan, China, israel, Palestine, Afghanistan ad nauseum. This includes coporate media like, Associated Press and NPR, who show clear bias to supporting and promoting criminal wars. They know their bais and they also know they are liable. So you only need to inform them that you support holding them responsible. The coporate news are the enablers of the wars of agression, their purpose is to demonize the intended victim; Hamas, Taliban, NW Tribal Areas,Iran, Iraq. First demonization then the criminal attack. Then glorification of the imperial killer robots. Then they sing yesterday as if that absolves war crimes.
Someone further down the blog is claiming jews were never expelled from Palestine. Throughout history jews were generaly accepted and protected by Muslims. Jews and Christians are considered people of the "Book" and are as cousins.
The Jews and Christians need only to pay a being non-Muslim tax and the Muslims protected them and allowed them to live in peace. Christian crusaders in general slaughtered and expelled jews from any place they conquered including Palestine. In one crusader conquest nearly all the jews fled, many to Babylon. When ( I believe it was Jerusalem) was retaken by Muslims the Jews were invited back, but the vast majority prefered to remain in Babylon.
One thought came to mind; how is it that at exactly the same time the Stern and Irgun zionists were slaughtering unarmed Palestinians in order to steal land, the jews in Europe were being exterminated with very little opposition?
Good post, Glenn.
I think McCain already did that.
It is time the UN went into the middle east with a big role of tiolet paper and cleaned up. Starting with Isarel. That is the source of the problem
Pan
Strange newspapers seems to have a 90% Blackout on Gaza as to the destruction and deaths ..hard to find a standalone article .
BUT pictures and articles on Death Camp survivors are being increasingly being shown ??? Their suffering befor is justification and helps close your mind to the Gazans suffering NOW.
No news today about Gazians .. there was no news today in 1945 about the Jews .. the bad guys are the same then and now, always when they are taking other peoples lands , all is justified by a mantra, holy rights , chosen or super race or as victims to continue inhumanity to man for LONG TERM gain.
No one is safe everyone is a terrorist if you resist.
Indeed Netanyahu is as bad as the racist Americans or South African White Truly terrorists Beloved by the U.S. for so many years .
In the name of our GOD and then it begins along with amnesia .
Watch 60 minutes piece get a feel of Nazi like behavior by Israel
You are correct, of course, that the Israeli government has prevented journalists from entering Gaza and censored information on a large scale.
See recent episodes of Democracy Now for honest treatment of the offensive against
Gaza. Democracy Now is careful to ignore the corporate media embargo against broadcasting images of Palestinians suffering in the onslaught.
Viva La Espana !
Bravo to Spain,a nation on the path to international law must be thanked & supported by us that want justice.
There are so many blatant war criminals that if they ever start to get serious about convicting these scofflaws they'd be working 24/7 - 365 day a year, every year, for decades.
What Netanyahu calls absurd, I call justice. If he wants to fight terrorism may I suggest he commit suicide?
"Give me liberty or at least two shoes to hurl"
bravo to spain
they were the one country to resist the zionist/american war on terror back in '03
makes me bitter to hear netanyahu - world terrorist - denounce the oppressed people of palestine as terrorists
israel is not a democracy - that is utter bullshit
the zionists threaten to nuke the entire world if they don't get their way in palestine - it's called the samson option - read about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Samson_Option_(book)
shows how insane the zionists are
here is a link that i hope everyone checks out - best seller in israel this past year - written by jew - stating that
1. the jews were never dispersed from palestine - ever
2. the jews were an amalgum of many peoples from around the globe
3. best of all - the palestinians were/are the true inhabitants of what is now israel and they are the true jewish nation - how ironic is that
check it out:
http://www.alternet.org/audits/122810/controversial_bestseller_shakes_the_foundation_of_the_israeli_st...
the bullshit story of the jews that we have been fed is a creation of the zionists that dates back to the 1800's
so, we see, it is a powerful thing to control the media - you can create alternate realities
throw in the fact that the world is totally indebted to the rothschild banking cartel/war industry and we begin to see how dangerous the fuckers truly are
as eustice mullins calls them: a parasitic people
cheers, b
Ignore alien anti-semites posing as intellectual rationalists. This stuff is like creationism and gives the cause of bringing the Israeli government's vile actions to justice another hurdle to clear. It threatens Israel's right to exist almost as much as the massacre and ghetto-ization of the Palestinians by the Israeli government does.
Bravo to Spain!
bobby vinton: piss off with the anti-semite crap willya
follow the link you lazy ass and read the book
the american preoccupation with antisemitism underscores zion control of the us
israel is the us mini-me hateful and murderous
lots of people like you who never read much
read a book
learn something
cheers, b
bobv: I appreciate your comment here.
For a better understanding of zionism please check out Lenni's definitive history here:
http://www.marxists.de/middleast/brenner/index.htm
Sophie Scholl-The Final Days
Guess who leaned on Europeans to get their sicko buddy off the hook?
Netanyahu, now the day I wake up and hear or read that this s.o.b. is dead, cold dead, will be a very great news day, indeed. The slime son of NOT God, but ... hell on Earth, to keep these words of description short. Every word he damnably says is an obvious lie, deceit or attempt to deceive, hypocrisy, and so on; and we don't need know a lot of the 61 years of history of the Zionist-Nazi-Israeli govt against Palestinians, Lebanese, and others of the general region to be able to realise that he's clearly NOT a son of God, say; and without meaening to proselytize.
"Jesus Hussein Christ January 29th, 2009 3:53 pm
Why is Netanyahoo even quoted? He has no credibility anywhere."
He unfortunately does have credibility; with people who prejudicially are pro-Israeli govt and all of its extreme criminality against others. There perhaps are some people who find him credible due to being naive, but many who believe and support him and his ilk are evidently prejudiced.
Well, I look forward to the aforementioned good news morning arriving ... asap.
"Pray for your enemies", Jesus of Nazareth said, and I understand why and agree, only, well, sometimes a different sort of prayer comes to mind before getting on with a prayer of the like of what Jesus said. F.e., I pray that Netanyahoo drops dead by the time I return from the store in a half hour or so.
Earth to Benjamin Netanyahu: you are a war criminal!
Why is Netanyahoo even quoted? He has no credibility anywhere. Maybe Bebe was just thrown in at the end of the article because a few old whores on capital hill still fondly remember his member.
Israel's former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said, "It's absurd..."
I guess that is why he is a FORMER PM.
Never criticize a man until you've walked a mile in their moccasins - Native American proverb.
Just because he used to be PM doesn't mean he can't be again.
Mr. Netanyahu - and a many many Israelis, Zionists and supporters of Israel's illegal acts from all around the world - would be well advised to read former Speaker of the Knesset, Avram Burg's recent book, "The Holocaust is Over and We Must Rise from the Ashes." See: http://www.amazon.com/Holocaust-Over-Must-Rise-Ashes/dp/0230607527
Netanyahu, the ultimate war criminal has the nerve to say that Spain is mocking international law even though his country hasn't honored any of the UN resolutions!
The indecency and delusion of these turds has no limits
I'm moving to Spain soon.
well said ladybug
cheers, b