Wednesday, 17 November 2010 13:22 Tania Kepler for the Alternative Information Center (AIC)
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MK Dichter Cancels Participation in Madrid Coalition Peace Conference for Fear of Arrest |
Member of Knesset Avi Dichter, former Head of Israeli General Security Services (GSS), recently canceled a trip to Spain, due to fear he would be detained or arrested by Spanish authorities for his involvement in alleged war crimes against Palestinians.
Dichter was set to attend a “peace conference” in Madrid at the end of October, organized by the Madrid Coalition, a collection of Israeli, Palestinian, and European civil society organizations working to support a multilateral resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict along the lines of the Arab Peace Initiative.
The Madrid Coalition confirmed that it invited Dichter. Leading members of the organization declined to respond to AIC questions, so it remains unclear why a suspected war criminal would be invited to participate in a conference on peace.
The former GSS chief has been charged in the Spanish state with possible war crimes for his part in the 2002 killing of Hamas member Salah Shehade and 14 other Palestinian civilians, including 9 children, who were in his Gaza Strip apartment building when a one-ton Israeli bomb was dropped on it.
There are additional charges pending in Spanish court against Dichter for his possible role in the Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip in December 2008-January 2009 (Operation Cast Lead), at which time he was Israel’s minister of internal security.
Madrid officials told Dichter that Spain did not intend to offer him immunity from arrest or interrogation, after which he cancelled his participation in the event, reported Israel’s Ynet news.
In March 2009, Dichter also signed a number of injunctions banning a series of events celebrating Jerusalem as the seat of the Arab Capital of Culture, scheduled to be held under the auspices and sponsored by the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem, Nazareth and other parts of the country, according Israel’s Ynet News.
Dichter instructed Israel Police to "suppress any attempts by the PA to hold events in Jerusalem and throughout the rest of the country."
According to the minister, “the events would constitute a violation of the interim agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, which includes a clause that forbids the PA from organizing events in Israeli territory,” reported Ynet.
Nazareth Mayor Ramiz Jeraisi responded to Dichter saying, "I never thought they (Israeli authorities) would take it this far. After all, this is a cultural event."
"Dichter is trying to compete with Avigdor Lieberman's anti-Arab trend, and anyone who holds democracy and freedom of expression dear must condemn his position," he said.
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