'Help Israel avoid war crimes charges,' Netanyahu urges US lawmakers [View all]

[Ichingcarpenter]

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu appealed to American legislators to help Israel stave off what is likely to be a concerted global push to haul the country’s military and political leaders to international courts for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza, The New York Post reported on Thursday.

According to the Post, during a meeting on Wednesday with members of Congress who are visiting Israel as guests of AIPAC, Netanyahu urged the American representatives to summon their powers in assisting Israeli officials who wish to avoid trial by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Help-Israel-avoid-war-crimes-charges-Netanyahu-urges-US-lawmakers-370352

Netanyahu asks US to help Israel avoid war crime charges



WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked US lawmakers Wednesday to help fend off Palestinian claims that his country engaged in “war crimes” while defending itself against attacks from Gaza, one top lawmaker told The Post.

The Israeli leader later told international reporters that his country employed “extraordinary measures” to avoid civilian deaths in the nearly month-long conflict.

As a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held for a third day, Netanyahu met with a group of US legislators, including Rep. Steve Israel (D-L.I.,) to discuss the country’s tense security situation and some fissures in US-Israel relations.

Netanyahu asked the delegation to help Israel stay out of the International Criminal Court, where its attacks on Gaza could come under scrutiny — even while responding to Hamas rockets fired at Israeli urban centers.

Palestinian leaders are getting ready to join the ICC, and met with officials in the Hague recently to discuss the implications of joining.


“The prime minister asked us to work together to ensure that this strategy of going to the ICC does not succeed,” Rep. Israel told the Post by phone from Tel Aviv.



http://nypost.com/2014/08/06/netanyahu-asks-us-to-help-israel-avoid-war-crime-charges/