Netanyahu to address Britain on Iran

Bibi praises the Foreign Ministry for joining the legal battle against Iran.

By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMAN
bibi netanyahu 88 (photo credit: )
bibi netanyahu 88
(photo credit: )
Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu will travel to London in two weeks to address Parliament and call for Britain to take measures to charge Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with incitement to commit genocide. Netanyahu will be joined in London by Likud MK Dan Naveh and Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs head Dore Gold, the initiators of a campaign to have Ahmadinejad indicted for inciting genocide against the Jewish state. The three men praised the Foreign Ministry for joining the legal battle against Ahmadinejad.
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The Jerusalem Post reported on Wednesday that the Foreign Ministry was reaching out to potential partners worldwide to press for tougher sanctions to thwart Iran's nuclear program and to explore avenues for indicting Ahmadinejad. A ministry source said it was "exploring what legal options are out there" to seek the prosecution of Ahmadinejad and was "cooperating with friendly governments and NGOs on this issue." Israel will push the issue through diplomatic channels, encouraging other countries to initiate legal action against him via the International Court of Justice and/or the International Criminal Court. In the last few days, senior Foreign Ministry officials met with former Canadian justice minister Irwin Cotler, who is also one of the leaders of the legal campaign. Netanyahu convened some 70 ambassadors in Tel Aviv last month to promote the campaign. Then, he lashed out at the government for not leading the effort. "If we have to initiate such steps that are important for Israel's security and the government follows us, it's better than not doing anything," Netanyahu told the Post. "We are glad to hear it. Now let them do it." Naveh said it was important that the Foreign Ministry was moving ahead and that he hoped it would take an active role in the campaign. Gold said various levels of the Foreign Ministry were consulted throughout JCPA's efforts to draft legal documents against Ah-madinejad. He said that following the event with the ambassadors, they sent detailed reports to their governments. "When we see governments around the world agreeing with our conclusion that Ahmadinejad violated the anti-incitement-to-genocide clause of the Geneva Convention, it's our sense that we are making tremendous progress in defending Israel and international humanitarian law," Gold said.