Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Israel slams Belgium for airing Sharon programme |
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| NewJehad |
| 11/19/01 at 08:18:35 |
News / Reportage Israel slams Belgium for airing Sharon programme JERUSALEM, Nov. 16 — Israel condemned plans by Belgian television to air a documentary on Friday examining whether Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon should be tried as a war criminal, ahead of a Brussels court ruling on the issue. A Belgian court is due to start a hearing on November 28 on whether to admit a case in which case Sharon has been accused of war crimes allegedly committed when he was in Beirut with the Israeli occupying army in the summer of 1982. The Israeli army surrounded the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut in September 1982 and assigned ''searching and mopping up'' inside to its Lebanese Christian militia allies. Militia of the so-called Lebanese Forces entered the camps ostensibly to search for Palestinian fighters, and massacred hundreds of unarmed civilians over three days while the Israeli army ringed the camps. The broadcast of the programme by the non-government RTBF television station also comes just two days before a trip by European officials to Israel headed by Belgium, which holds the rotating European Union presidency. The documentary programme was originally made and aired by the British Broadcasting Corp (BBC) in June, which also drew strong protests from Israel. The programme was due to be broadcast in Belgium at 1855 GMT on Friday. ''We express our shock and dismay at the decision to show this biased documentary on Belgian television,'' Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon said. ''Especially given the timing two days before the visit of the Belgium Prime Minister and one week before an important meeting concerning the judicial process that Mr Sharon is facing in Belgium.'' ISRAEL SLAMS DOCUMENTARY Israel slammed the documentary as scandalous and anti-Semitic on its first broadcast in June presenting views for and against trying Sharon for crimes his accusers say he committed in Beirut when he was defence minister. Syria and Lebanon at the time praised the producers for their ''objectivity and bravery'' and for confirming that ''Sharon does not deserve to be welcomed in international capitals.'' A 1983 Israeli state inquiry found Sharon indirectly responsible for the killing of hundreds of men, women and children at Sabra and Shatila. An Israeli political source, responding to the plan to air the documentary, criticised Belgium for the ''double message'' coming from its government. ''On the one hand they are telling us they are making every possible effort to finish the story of the trial against Sharon as soon as possible, and on other are contributing to an anti-Israel and anti-Sharon atmosphere in Belgium,'' the source said. Relations between Israel and Belgium have been strained since survivors of the massacres asked a magistrate's court to put the Israeli leader on trial for crimes against humanity. A 1993 law allows Belgian courts to prosecute foreign officials for human rights violations. The European Union delegation is due to hold talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders at the weekend, but an EU official has said the visit is unlikely to produce a quick fix to Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed that has raged for 13 months. Source: Reuters |
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