Tuesday 5 May 2009

Spanish judge presses on with Israeli war crime probe


Spanish judge presses on with Israeli war crime probe

[ 05/05/2009 - 08:43 AM ]

MADRID, (PIC)-- The Spanish judge Fernando Andreu on Monday declared that he would press ahead with investigating Israeli crimes against humanity committed in the aerial bombardment of a Gaza building in 2002.

Legal sources said that Andreu of Spain's National Court refused prosecutors' argument that the court lacked the jurisdiction to probe the file.

The judge asserted that his court was authorized to probe the charge filed by the Palestinian center for human rights in Gaza after failure of the Israeli judiciary to prosecute those who committed war crimes against Palestinians.

The case involves the Israeli air force's shelling of a building in Gaza on 22/7/2002 that killed the commander of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, Sheikh Salah Shehade along with 14 civilians mostly children.

The Israeli air force dropped a one ton bomb on the house in the Daraj neighborhood in Gaza city.

The charge was made against seven Israeli officials topped by the then war minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer, chief of staff Moshe Ya'lon, and air force commander Dan Halutz.

No comments: