"Papers reveal how alleged Israeli war criminal escaped UK arrest"
"Scotland Yard is not only a coverup operation(e.g. Bhutto assassination), it is a cowardly coverup operation.
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Papers reveal how alleged war criminal escaped UK arrest
· Former Gaza commander hid on El Al aircraft
· Police with warrant feared Heathrow gun battle
Read the police documents (pdf)
Wednesday February 20 2008
Scotland Yard allowed a suspected war criminal to escape from Britain partly because they feared an attempt to stop him would lead to a gun battle at Heathrow airport, police documents seen by the Guardian reveal. The former senior Israeli officer was supposed to be detained as he arrived in London for a speaking engagement, after a British court had ordered his arrest. But detectives looked on as he landed, then hid on the plane for two hours, before flying off to avoid arrest.
A British court had issued a secret arrest warrant for Major General Doron Almog for the alleged war crime under the Geneva convention of ordering the demolition of 59 civilian Palestinian homes.
Israeli diplomats were tipped off after Almog's plane left Israel on September 11 2005. Once it landed in London a military attache from the Israeli embassy boarded the jet and warned Almog to stay on board. He refused to leave the plane until it took off again for Israel, two hours later.
The war crimes arrest warrant was issued by senior district judge Timothy Workman, after an application by British lawyers acting for Palestinian victims of the demolition in 2002 in Gaza. Under British law on war crimes UK courts have jurisdiction to try suspects even if the alleged crimes are committed abroad.
Almog, commanding officer of the Israeli defence forces' southern command from December 2000 to July 2003, was due to arrive at 1.25pm on a flight belonging to El Al, Israel's national carrier.
Those who obtained the warrant say police made errors. The document is written by detective superintendent John MacBrayne, from the counter-terrorism command, who was in charge on the day. It was drafted in response to an Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation.
MacBrayne wrote of events the day Almog landed at Heathrow: "Consideration was given to boarding the El Al flight and DSU MacBrayne sought clarification of his powers to do so with those officials present." Top detectives were told that police routinely boarded flights, but were not sure if they could do so without the permission of the airline.
"It was confirmed that El Al were refusing voluntary access to the plane ... another consideration being that El Al flights carried armed air marshals which raised issues round public safety. There was also no intelligence as to whether Mr Almog would have been travelling with personal security as befitted his status, armed or otherwise. DSU MacBrayne took the considered opinion that, as access to the plane would not be consensual, there existed a real threat of an armed confrontation."
Daniel Machover, a solicitor involved in gaining the warrant, said police did not need permission to board the plane, and could also have stopped it taking off until Almog emerged. The document reveals that before the planned arrest Scotland Yard consulted a police unit called the Communities Tensions Team, for advice on reaction in the British Jewish community. A "trusted partner" of the police, a Jewish contact, was also involved.
The warrant, issued at Bow Street magistrates court, central London, is believed to be the first of its kind issued in Britain against an Israeli national over conduct in the conflict with Palestinians. The attorney general would have had to sanction a prosecution before it went ahead.
Speaking days after avoiding the arrest, Almog told the Guardian he was advised not to leave the plane by the cabin crew. "I don't know how he [the military attache] found out but I am glad he did. It was also fortunate that I was flying with El Al as they are loyal. I don't know what would have happened if I had been on a British Airways flight."
Almog said: "As a soldier and a general, I have never committed a crime. Many times I have saved Palestinian lives by risking my life and the lives of my soldiers."
Vikram Dodd, crime correspondent"
