Israel’s foreign minister pressures Switzerland to prevent arresting Israeli officials over war crimes
Bern (QNN)- Israel’s Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz visited Switzerland accompanied by a legal team to press for the repeal of legislation that could see Israeli officials arrested for war crimes against Palestinians, reported Israeli media.
Swiss laws allow Israeli politicians and military officers to be arrested for war crimes, which seems to not suitable for Israel’s officials.
Katz held talks with his counterpart Ignazio Cassis in Lucerne and was to meet President Ueli Maurer on Tuesday.
He was to clarify, said YNet, “that the State of Israel will not tolerate any form of denial of its right to self-defense against radical Islamist terror threats or threats to prosecute past or present Israeli leaders and military personnel.”
The occupation state of Israel faces hard times, as most of its officials are accused of committing war crimes and genocide, which make them prone to arrests.
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert canceled a planned visit to Switzerland last month after he was notified that he is liable to be arrested in the Alpine country for war crimes he committed in Gaza in 2008, when over 1200 civilians were killed and over 4000 others were wounded.
Another war crime complaint was submitted against former foreign minister Tzipi Livni for her role in the same war in 2008. A long list of Israeli officials, including Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu, former defense minister and PM Ehud Barak, former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon in addition to other officers in the Israeli occupation army, face threats of arrest and interrogation in many European countries like Switzerland and Sweden.
