“Israeli” war minister welcomed to Britain by protest and international arrest warrant

While the "Israeli" War Minister Ehud Barak was due to attend a fringe meeting of the governing Labor Party's annual conference in the British coastal resort of Brighton on September 29, a demonstration was held to protest against his "unwanted" presence. Protestors- among which there were nine Labor MPs- participated in the protest near the party's conference venue.

Protestors said Barak should be held accountable for the 22-day "Israeli" onslaught against the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the besieged Gaza Strip, which killed over 1,400, including more than 900 civilians, between December 2008 and January 2009.

During the protest, British lawmakers and pro-Palestinian activists have denounced the governing Labor Party for entertaining "Israeli" War Minister Ehud Barak at their annual conference instead of calling for his arrest for war crimes committed against the Palestinians.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which organized the protest, had a clear stance which was expressed through its General Secretary Betty Hunter.

Hunter said that it was a disgrace for Britain to engage and hold meetings with Ehud Barak, who has been accused of war crimes. "As a High Contracting Party to the Geneva Convention, the British government should be arresting Barak for war crimes, not treating him to dinner," she insisted.

Meanwhile in London, lawyers for several Palestinians in Britain filed a request with the Westminster Magistrates Court on Tuesday to prosecute Barak, as holding him responsible of these latest crimes against the tiny Gaza Strip, especially after a United Nations probe into the Gaza war earlier this month concluded that "Israel" committed war crimes through attacking civilians, using banned weapons and torturing people during the offensive.

The lawyers cited "Israeli" war crimes and the violation of the Geneva Convention by the regime during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza eight months ago as the legal basis for the case.
But as these lawyers of Palestinian families of victims of the Gaza war seek to obtain an international arrest warrant for him while he is in the UK, resources said the petition was rejected on grounds of diplomatic immunity.