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Human rights center vows to sue Israeli leaders as war criminals everywhere

The Gaza-based Palestinian center for human rights has vowed Saturday that it would relentlessly work to prosecute Israeli leaders accused of committing war crimes against the Palestinian people even before international courts.

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The Gaza-based Palestinian center for human rights has vowed Saturday that it would relentlessly work to prosecute Israeli leaders accused of committing war crimes against the Palestinian people even before international courts.

The center added, the Israeli penal code couldn’t bring justice to the Palestinian victims simply because it was blatantly biased in favor of the Israelis, stressing that justice must take its course and that Israeli war criminals must be punished.

The pledge of the center came after a Dutch court rejected a complaint filed by a Palestinian victim against former Israeli security officer Ami Ayalon for torturing him although the prosecution presented “strong” evidence against the accused.

“The decision of the court was shocking, it shocked the plaintiff, his lawyers, and all those who trusted the honesty and transparency of the Dutch judicial system”, the center stressed in a statement it issued in this regard, and a copy of which was obtained by the PIC.

“Despite this serious setback, the center and its legal partners would spare no effort in suing Israeli leaders suspected of committing war crimes and of torturing Palestinian citizens in Israeli detention centers… it is proven beyond reasonable doubt that the Israeli law is biased against the Palestinians, and that justice couldn’t be achieved through such law, and that is why we opted to go to international courts authorized to decide in such cases”, the center explained.

Moreover, the center revealed it was of the opinion that the court’s decision was politically motivated, and that the court was embarrassed by the presence of Ayalon in Holland, but underlined that lawyers of the victim Khalid Al-Shami were mulling their next legal steps.

“The rights of Mr. Shami must be respected and protected, and thus, all the defendants accused of torturing Palestinian captives must be held accountable”, the center highlighted.

According to the center, lawyers of Shami complained that the Dutch general-prosecutor failed to open an investigation over the case during the visit of Ayalon to Holland last May 2008, adding that the council of general prosecutors in Holland was discussing the legal status of Ayalon and whether he enjoys diplomatic immunity.

“It took the council 21 days to decide that Ayalon doesn’t possess any diplomatic immunity, but that decision was very late because the Israeli intelligence officer had already left Holland when that decision was announced”, the center revealed.

Shami accused Ayalon and the Israeli Shabak prosecutors of torturing him, exposing him to very low temperature, and of tying his hand and feet to a small chair for long times.
The center also quoted the victim saying that he was prosecuted by a military court without any legal representation, and that he was placed in solitary confinement after he was forced to sign on a blank paper.

“The torture sessions had indeed inflicted on Shami permanent disabilities” the center confirmed.