The Belgian Senate approved this morning an amendment to its Universal Law, allowing Belgium to try Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for war crimes. Sharon was about to be tried there last year for his involvement in the Sabra and Shatila massacres - in which Christian Phalangists murdered hundreds of Arabs in Lebanon in 1982 - but the Belgian Supreme Court determined that the country's unique law governing international war crimes can be applied only to those who are physically present in Belgium. The Belgian legislators thereupon went right to work to do what was necessary to try the Israeli leader, passing the amendment this morning and paving the way for Sharon to be tried in absentia.
Sharon is being sued by relatives of the murdered Arab residents of Lebanese refugee camps, who claim that as Israel's Defense Minister at the time, he turned a blind eye to the murderous Christian intentions. Sharon has always maintained that he had no knowledge of what the Phalangists were planning.
It should be noted that Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz, visiting Great Britain late last year, was advised to quickly leave the country after a complaint was filed against him relating to Israel's response to the PA's Oslo War terrorism. Mofaz was IDF Chief of Staff when the Arabs began the current war in Sept. 2000. Israel is concerned about the increasing trend towards charging Israeli officials with war crimes in The Hague's International Court and in other courts around the world.
Sharon is being sued by relatives of the murdered Arab residents of Lebanese refugee camps, who claim that as Israel's Defense Minister at the time, he turned a blind eye to the murderous Christian intentions. Sharon has always maintained that he had no knowledge of what the Phalangists were planning.
It should be noted that Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz, visiting Great Britain late last year, was advised to quickly leave the country after a complaint was filed against him relating to Israel's response to the PA's Oslo War terrorism. Mofaz was IDF Chief of Staff when the Arabs began the current war in Sept. 2000. Israel is concerned about the increasing trend towards charging Israeli officials with war crimes in The Hague's International Court and in other courts around the world.