Friends of Peace

We are doing work for world peace but there are news about a new war which should be stopped either by dialog or diplomatic ways. The news is as following:

“TEL AVIV – Intelligence officials from Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the U.S. held a meeting last week to discuss specific responses to Iranian retaliatory attacks during a potential war with Tehran, WND has learned.

A senior Egyptian intelligence official told WND the main talks, which took place in Amman, revolved around the possibility of Iranian-directed Palestinian and Islamic attacks against Israel, Egypt and Jordan during a possible future war with Iran.

The official said scenarios discussed revolved only around Iranian retaliatory attacks and did not take into account how any future war with Iran would be initiated or the timing of such a war.

The official said the concern was that Iran would use proxies such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip to attack both Egypt and Israel, while Hezbollah in Lebanon would launch missiles at Israeli population centers, including Tel Aviv.

Also, there is fear militants inside Jordan allied with the Muslim Brotherhood could attack Jordanian interests.

Hamas in Gaza is said to have rockets capable of reaching just outside Tel Aviv, while Hezbollah possesses Iranian-supplied missiles and rockets that can reach most Israeli population centers.

Egypt granted Israel permission several months ago to conduct naval exercises off Egyptian coastal waters. The military drills clearly were aimed at Iran.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, are influenced by Sunni Islam. The Arab countries are threatened by the growing influence of Iran, dominated by Shiite Islam.

In September, Saudi Arabia denied it offered the Israel Air Force permission to fly over its territory to attack Iranian nuclear facilities.

The Arab country was responding to a report in London’s Sunday Express claiming the Saudis had agreed to turn a blind eye and not interfere should Israel and the U.S. attack Iranian nuclear facilities through Saudi air space. The Saudi government called the Express report baseless.

The official said Saudi Arabia is passing intelligence information to Israel related to Iran. He affirmed a report from the Arab media, strongly denied by the Israeli government, that Saudi Arabia has granted Israel overflight permission during any attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The official previously told WND that Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, has been involved in an intense, behind-the-scenes lobbying effort urging the U.S. and other Western countries to do everything necessary to ensure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons. Such weapons would threaten Saudi Arabia’s position of influence in the Middle East.

The Egyptian official said his country believes it is not likely Obama will grant Israel permission to attack Iran.

He previously spoke about the efforts of other Arab countries to oppose an Iranian nuclear umbrella but did not comment on Egypt’s own position on the matter.”

Source: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=119754  By Aaron Klein written for  WorldNetDaily (reproduced with thanks)

Little noticed but highly significant development took place on December 16 when a British court issued warrants of arrest for Israel leader of Kadima party Tpizi Livni, who was Israel’s foreign minister during the December 2008 brutal offensive against Gaza. In 22 days of savagery, Israel pulverised Gaza, ruined its economy and killed 1,417 Palestinian as against 13 Israelis killed.

Israel’s devastating military operation has been condemned by the international community as crimes against humanity and war crimes. Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued separate reports documenting Israeli brutality. The UNHCR decided to probe the massive destruction and killing of civilians, including women and children. A delegation led by Goldstone, a former judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa, submitted his report on September 17 to the UNHCR in Geneva corroborating the findings of the AI and the HRW. The matter was also taken up by the UN Security Council but due to the US threat of veto it did not pass any resolution.

Gaza is a tiny strip of land between Egypt and Israel with 1.5 million inhabitants. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but has retrained complete control of the territory by sea, air and land. It has imposed a blockade on Gaza. Essential food supply, fuel, electricity and water have been denied, impoverishing the Palestinians’ pitiable existence.

Last week a British court issued the warrant of arrest against Tpizi Livni who was due to visit London to address the Jewish National Fund Conference, but postponed her visit after being tipped off about the proposed action. The warrant was issued at the request of lawyers representing Gaza victims.

The episode, nevertheless, has shaken the Israeli government. Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected ‘this absurdity’ and has mounted extreme pressure on the British government to withdraw court powers under the ill-defined legal concept of ‘universal jurisdiction’ on which this warrant was based. Britain is a staunch supporter of Israel. The episode has, therefore, immensely embarrassed the UK. Foreign Secretary Miliband assured Israel that “Britain will no longer tolerate legal harassment of Israeli officials”.

This was not the first time that British courts have issued such a warrant. In September a similar warrant was issued against Israel’s Defence Minister Ehud Barak under the 1988 Criminal Jurisdiction Act which gives the court in England and Wales universal jurisdiction in war-crime cases. Being a cabinet minister of Israel Barak escaped arrest invoking his diplomatic immunity.

The concept of ‘universal jurisdiction’ is an extremely useful tool to pursue and punish perpetrators of war crimes. It, however, needs refinement and clarity. Legal experts are of the opinion that due to this legal remedy any high-profile visitor involved in a military or anti-terrorist operation would be scared to visit a country that has such a provision in its constitution which could, in times to come, blossom into an internationally accepted legal norm. Earlier, a Swedish court under the same provision had issued a warrant against Ariel Sharon, Israel’s defence minister. The concept is the evolution of humanitarian laws and conventions to fix responsibility of war crimes on the leader rather than the soldier. The International Criminal Court in The Hague, now trying the leaders of Serbia and Yugoslavia, has drawn strength from this concept.

The Kashmiri expatriate in England can perhaps invoke similar action against the Indian government for the atrocities committed by the Indian security forces and killing of 70,000 Kashmiris since 1989.

Source: www.thenews.com.pk , Wednesday, December 23, 2009 written by Tayyab Siddiqui who is a former ambassador.

Email: m.tayyab.siddiqui@gmail.com