Israel Matzav

Comrade Peretz escapes from London

Former Defense Minister Amir Comrade Peretz escaped from London on Saturday night just ahead of a warrant for his arrest for committing 'war crimes' during the 2006 Second Lebanon War. The arrest would have been carried out under Britain's still-unchanged universal jurisdiction law.

The former defense minister refused to cancel his visit, claiming that by doing so he would be admitting defeat, sources said. The Justice Ministry accepted his stance, but was prepared to stand by with a legal team.

Peretz was scheduled to give a speech at a London university, and elements estimated that the anti-Israel activists would ambush him there before police would arrive to arrest him.

Following the defense elements' advice, Peretz decided to trick the activists; he e-mailed the university administration to inform it that he had to cancel the trip for personal reasons. The plot worked, causing the activists to call off the arrest warrant.

...

Peretz then traveled to the UK and fulfilled his other engagements, keeping a low profile. He spoke before an Israeli business club, and met with representatives of London's Jewish community.

But word of Peretz's trip eventually reached the activists, who renewed the efforts to issue a warrant against him. The defense establishment then advised the MK to push his return up from Sunday to Saturday evening – a move that evidently saved Peretz embarrassment, as the arrest warrant was eventually issued right after his departure.

I would have thought that these 'activists' would want Peretz to be defense minister rather than arresting him. After all, he was so successful the last time he held the job....

Labels: Amir Peretz, London, universal jurisdiction

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:17 PM