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Attorney General asked to investigate war crimes charges
against former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is currently visiting Australia and
may face war crimes charges over his role in Israel’s offensive in Gaza earlier
this year.
Melbourne advocacy group Australians for Palestine has written to the
Attorney General Robert McClelland asking him to investigate the charges of
grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Division 268 of the
Criminal Code Act 1995.
The letter details just some of the allegations that have been made against Mr
Olmert in relation to the criminal offensive launched on a people already
suffering severe deprivations and collective imprisonment due to the
punitive
sanctions that Israel imposed 18 months before the attack
began
on 27
December 2008.
In just three weeks, Israel’s army, under Mr Olmert’s command, had unleashed
an inferno on the whole population that resulted in some 1400 deaths – most of
them civilians - leaving some 5,500 seriously injured, more than 50,000 people
homeless, and vital infrastructure necessary for civil society to survive,
completely decimated.
The letter refers to the UN-sponsored Goldstone report that has documented 10
particular instances of Israeli forces wilfully attacking civilians for which there
was no justifiable military objective and in which they must have been aware of
the civilian status of those attacked.
Throughout the offensive, Australians for Palestine had noted Mr Olmert’s
public announcements and found them indicative of a leader who had no
intention of ending the operation quickly, despite the largest death toll of
Palestinians – more than 200 – in a single day when the offensive first began.
Australians for Palestine has urged the Attorney General to meet Australia’s
obligations as one of the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions
and to hold Mr Olmert accountable for war crimes. “Without accountability”,
the letter says, “there will be no serious prospect for peace in the Middle East.”
For further information contact Australians for Palestine public advocate,
Michael Shaik on 0431 573 368
NEWS 
