Israel Matzav

Gadhafi son and three grandsons killed - will those responsible be prosecuted for 'war crimes'?

During the night, Muammar Gadhafi's youngest son, Seif al-Arab Gadhafi (who was not his more famous brother Seif al-Islam Gadhafi) was killed along with three of his children who were under the age of 12. Muammar Gadhafi and one of his wives were in the son's house when the NATO planes attacked.

Let's go to the videotape.

The house in Tripoli was destroyed by the strike, with a massive crater where the house used to be. At least one unexploded bomb could be seen.

The building was in a residential area of Tripoli, according to Ibrahim, who insisted that Saif al-Arab Gadhafi was a student in Germany who was not deeply involved in Libya's military and government. The 29-year-old was the sixth of Gadhafi's eight biological children.

Ibrahim railed against NATO after the fatal strike, calling it an illegal act and a "war crime." He vowed revenge.

Speaking at a rally, Ibrahim told fellow Libyans, "Every one of you are Saif al-Arab."

Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, commander of NATO's military operations, said in a statement he was "aware of unconfirmed media reports that some of Gadhafi's family members may have been killed.

"We regret all loss of life, especially the innocent civilians being harmed as a result of this ongoing conflict," Bouchard said. "NATO is fulfilling its U.N. mandate to stop and prevent attacks against civilians with precision and care -- unlike Gadhafi's forces, which are causing so much suffering."

The NATO commander stated that all targets "are military in nature and have been clearly linked to the Gadhafi regime's systemic attacks on the Libyan population ... We do not target individuals."

A senior official in President Barack Obama's administration said the U.S. government is "very aware" of the reports, but cannot confirm who, if anyone, died in a strike until they see the evidence.

Might I remind you that several European countries, many of whom are NATO members who are involved in the fighting in Libya (e.g. Britain), have attempted to prosecute Israeli officials for 'war crimes' in connection with the killing of Hamas terror chieftain Salah Shehadeh in 2002. In that case, Shehadeh had gathered family members around him as human shielfs, and many of those family members were killed along with him.. Unlike Seif al-Arab Gadhafi, Salah Shehadeh was very much involved in planning terror attacks.

So does this mean that those NATO countries will attempt to prosecute those responsible for the deaths of Seif al-Arab Gadhafi's children? Don't hold your breaths. No one cares when Arabs are killed unless they are killed by Jews.

Labels: Libyan civil war, Libyan no-fly zone, Libyan regime change, Muammar Gaddafi, NATO, Salah Shehadeh, Seif al-Arab Gadhafi, universal jurisdiction, war crimes

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:59 AM