Thursday
Oct292009
Israel's Growing Problem: Will Its Ministers Be Arrested?
Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 7:50 
Israeli Army Radio reported on Tuesday that Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon will not cut short his trip to Britain, despite warning from activists that they will press war crimes charges against him. Last month, British authorities rejected a petition to arrest Defense Minister Ehud Barak, saying that Barak was Britain's diplomatic guest.Still, lawyers in Britain and other European countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, and Norway have been collecting testimonies of Palestinians regarding the alleged war crimes committed by Israel Defense Forces during the Gaza War. If the alleged crime is proven in court, individuals charged will be arrested as soon as they enter these countries.
On Wednesday, the former IDF chief of staff and Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon, whose trial has been sought over the assassination of senior Hamas activist Salah Shehadeh in July 2002, said he is "willing to forgo visits to European capitals and to allow the Israel Defense Forces the freedom to act." He added:
Israel is transparent. The IDF has recently conducted five serious probes, the criminal investigation division opened an investigation into credit card theft. There is a team that will respond to the report without having to stop the army in order to do so.
On Wednesday, Israel and the US, with 1,000 participants on each side, launched a major air defense drill called