A-Sanaa to petition High Court over school shelling

United Arab List lawmaker accuses Israel of war crimes.

By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMAN
taleb a sanaa 224.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski )
taleb a sanaa 224.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski )
United Arab List MK Taleb A-Sanaa is working on a petition to the High Court of Justice against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi for Tuesday's shelling of the UNRWA school in the Gaza Strip. A-Sanaa said his attorneys were drafting the petition, which will accuse Israel of breaking international law by shelling the school that the IDF has said was used as a cover to fire mortars and for storing missiles. At least 30 people were killed in the attack, most of them civilians. "Israel cannot break international law and not get punished for it," A-Sanaa said. "Israel needs to decide whether it wants to be a terrorist organization like Hamas or respect international law." A-Sanaa wrote Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz, asking him to probe what he called "the murder of innocent children" in the attack. He accused whoever was responsible for the attack of "war crimes." He also wrote President Shimon Peres a letter accusing Israeli politicians of advancing their personal political interests at the expense of the good of the Israeli and Palestinian people. He said Olmert was trying to change his image and become a hero while Barak was trying to help his political campaign. Balad chairman Wasel Taha lashed out at what he called "sadistic ministers who dance on Palestinian blood to help them in the election." He accused Barak of "burning alive women and children" and Israelis of "lacking human feelings" for what he termed "the shocking slaughter in Gaza." Ta'al chairman Ahmed Tibi lashed out at what he called the "unprecedented killing of civilians," which he said was "a war crime perpetrated by Barak and Livni" that must be stopped. He accused the Israeli press of being complicit with the IDF for not showing pictures of the devastation of the school. United Arab List's chairman, MK Sheikh Ibrahaim Sarsour, sent an e-mail to his mailing list with a picture of a dead Palestinian child buried in rubble. In the e-mail, which had the subject "forward to all people [sic] you know," Sarsour complained about the Israeli Left supporting attacks against civilians. Meretz criticized the attack, saying that "killing innocents makes Israel pay an unacceptable moral price and harms the justice of our cause in our own eyes and the eyes of the world." The Central Elections Committee will convene on Monday to consider Israel Beiteinu's request to prohibit Balad and the United Arab List from running in the February 10 election on the grounds that they oppose Israel being a Jewish state. Taha said he would not be surprised if the same Israel that could kill innocent children would also prevent his party from running.