The Belgian judge handling the case against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for his responsibility for the massacres in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in Beirut during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon began hearing testimonies on the matter Thursday, a Belgian judicial source said.
Suad Srur, a Palestinian survivor of the massacre, testified in front of the Belgian judge, the source told Haaretz newspaper.
Sharon's office has decided to hire a Belgian attorney in order to battle the possible legal consequences of a lawsuit filed in Belgium.
According to the paper, the policy of the Prime Minister's Office had previously been to ignore the legal processes against Sharon, which could result in war-crimes charges being filed against him in Belgium.
Now, however, Sharon aides have shifted to a more active posture, with the goal of submitting a petition to dismiss the lawsuit, it said.
Israel has received reports that similar suits could soon be filed against army Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz and his air force commander, Major-General Dan Halutz, for human rights violations tied to the Israeli army operations in the Palestinian territories in recent months, Army Radio said, cited by the paper.
Sharon called the case a “veiled attack against Israel,” said AFP.
"It's not a personal question. By attacking me personally they are looking to attack Israel and the Jewish people, but we will stop it " Sharon told reporters.
The head of Sharon's office, Uri Shani, was meeting Thursday with jurists and top officials to work out a strategy to handle the potential Belgian case, according to Israeli public television.
In Belgium, attorney Michael Verhaeghe, acting for a Palestinian woman who escaped the massacres at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, said his client had been interviewed by examining magistrate Patrick Collignon.
Sharon is potentially facing two lawsuits over the massacre of between 800 and 1,500 Palestinians at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps following Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982, when he was defense minister.
The first suit, charging him with responsibility for the deaths, was lodged by an ad hoc group of Palestinian, Lebanese, Moroccan and Belgian nationals.
A second suit alleging crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes was filed by 23 survivors of the massacres as well as five eyewitnesses.
The slaughter was carried out by Christian militiamen at the camps, located in an area, which at the time was controlled by the Israeli military.
Sharon was forced to resign as defense minister after an Israeli investigation in 1983 found him indirectly but "personally" responsible for the deaths.
Under a 1993 Belgian law, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide can be tried in the Belgian courts, regardless of where they took place or the nationality or residence of either the victims or the accused.
There are now cases pending in Belgium against a number of key world political figures, including former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, one-time dictator of Chile Augusto Pinochet and three former Cambodian Khmer Rouge leaders.
But the possible trial of Sharon -- the Belgian courts have yet to decide if the case will proceed further -- has sparked fears that other Israeli officials could be prosecuted in Europe – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
