Palestinians sue former Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter in U.S. court
Two pro-Palestinian groups sued a former Israeli security chief who is in the United States on a fellowship.
The Center for Constitutional Rights and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights served papers Wednesday night in New York in a class-action lawsuit against Avi Dichter, former director of Israel’s Shin Bet security service, on behalf of the families of Palestinians killed or injured in a 2002 air strike in the Gaza Strip. The groups allege that Dichter provided the intelligence necessary to carry out the bombing, which killed Hamas kingpin Salah Shehadeh but also killed eight children and seven adults and injured 150 people, the groups said in a statement.
Dichter is a fellow at the Saban Center of the Brookings Institution, in Washington. An Israeli government inquiry into the assassination said it had prevented multiple terrorist attacks that Shehadeh was planning, and that it was carried out correctly. However, it said intelligence prior to the operation had “shortcomings” and that “conclusions were drawn with important implications for future operations, to avoid a recurrence.”
Palestinians sue former Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter in U.S. court
By Yuval Yoaz
Haaretz
Dec. 9, 2005
Palestinians filed a civil suit against former Shin Bet security service chief Avi Dichter in a U.S. federal court Thursday, seeking millions of dollars in damages.
The plaintiffs are relatives of the 14 civilians who were killed when Israel assassinated senior Hamas operative Salah Shehadeh in July 2002.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court - Southern District of New York.
While Palestinians have previously filed suit in the United States against other Israeli security officials, Dichter, unlike the defendants in those cases, is currently in the U.S. As a result, the plaintiffs have been able to serve him with the papers, thereby enabling the court to hear the case.
According to the suit, Dichter shares responsibility for the deaths both because of his role in the decision to drop a one-ton bomb on the building where Shehadeh was staying and because he supplied the intelligence on which that decision was based. The Israel Defense Forces said at the time that it decided to drop the bomb based on intelligence indicating that Shehadeh was alone in the building.
While the suit does not ask for a specific sum in damages - that would be decided by the jury - the total is expected to reach millions of dollars. The plaintiffs are seeking both compensation and punitive damages, arguing that the bombing constituted a war crime that should not go unpunished.
Dichter has not yet responded to the suit.
Israel slams lawsuit against Dichter
THE JERUSALEM POST
Dec. 9, 2005
Israel on Friday denounced a lawsuit filed by Palestinians against a former Israeli security chief as "cynical manipulation" by extremists.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in New York federal court, said former Shin Bet director Avi Dichter is responsible for a July 2002 airstrike that killed 15 people in the Gaza Strip and seeks unspecified damage. The suit also seeks class-action status for survivors of the bombing and relatives of those who were killed.
"We see this as a cynical manipulation of the courts by groups with extremist agendas," said Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
The airstrike dropped a one-ton bomb that killed Salah Shehadeh, a top Hamas operative wanted for masterminding suicide bombings, along with 14 other people, including nine children.
Regev said Israel has been in touch with other countries, including the US and Britain, that could face similar charges against soldiers fighting in Iraq or in the global war on terror.
In September, retired general Doron Almog stayed on board a plane at London's Heathrow airport and returned to Israel after being tipped off that he was about to be arrested in connection with the same airstrike.
British police later canceled the arrest warrant, which had been issued after the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights filed a complaint against the general.
Other IDF commanders who have been targeted by similar lawsuits include Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz and former chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Moshe Ya'alon. Others included on the list, though they cannot be prosecuted while holding senior government posts, include Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, a former defense minister.
The Center for Constitutional Rights and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights served papers Wednesday night in New York in a class-action lawsuit against Avi Dichter, former director of Israel’s Shin Bet security service, on behalf of the families of Palestinians killed or injured in a 2002 air strike in the Gaza Strip. The groups allege that Dichter provided the intelligence necessary to carry out the bombing, which killed Hamas kingpin Salah Shehadeh but also killed eight children and seven adults and injured 150 people, the groups said in a statement.
Dichter is a fellow at the Saban Center of the Brookings Institution, in Washington. An Israeli government inquiry into the assassination said it had prevented multiple terrorist attacks that Shehadeh was planning, and that it was carried out correctly. However, it said intelligence prior to the operation had “shortcomings” and that “conclusions were drawn with important implications for future operations, to avoid a recurrence.”
Palestinians sue former Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter in U.S. court
By Yuval Yoaz
Haaretz
Dec. 9, 2005
Palestinians filed a civil suit against former Shin Bet security service chief Avi Dichter in a U.S. federal court Thursday, seeking millions of dollars in damages.
The plaintiffs are relatives of the 14 civilians who were killed when Israel assassinated senior Hamas operative Salah Shehadeh in July 2002.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court - Southern District of New York.
While Palestinians have previously filed suit in the United States against other Israeli security officials, Dichter, unlike the defendants in those cases, is currently in the U.S. As a result, the plaintiffs have been able to serve him with the papers, thereby enabling the court to hear the case.
According to the suit, Dichter shares responsibility for the deaths both because of his role in the decision to drop a one-ton bomb on the building where Shehadeh was staying and because he supplied the intelligence on which that decision was based. The Israel Defense Forces said at the time that it decided to drop the bomb based on intelligence indicating that Shehadeh was alone in the building.
While the suit does not ask for a specific sum in damages - that would be decided by the jury - the total is expected to reach millions of dollars. The plaintiffs are seeking both compensation and punitive damages, arguing that the bombing constituted a war crime that should not go unpunished.
Dichter has not yet responded to the suit.
Israel slams lawsuit against Dichter
THE JERUSALEM POST
Dec. 9, 2005
Israel on Friday denounced a lawsuit filed by Palestinians against a former Israeli security chief as "cynical manipulation" by extremists.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in New York federal court, said former Shin Bet director Avi Dichter is responsible for a July 2002 airstrike that killed 15 people in the Gaza Strip and seeks unspecified damage. The suit also seeks class-action status for survivors of the bombing and relatives of those who were killed.
"We see this as a cynical manipulation of the courts by groups with extremist agendas," said Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
The airstrike dropped a one-ton bomb that killed Salah Shehadeh, a top Hamas operative wanted for masterminding suicide bombings, along with 14 other people, including nine children.
Regev said Israel has been in touch with other countries, including the US and Britain, that could face similar charges against soldiers fighting in Iraq or in the global war on terror.
In September, retired general Doron Almog stayed on board a plane at London's Heathrow airport and returned to Israel after being tipped off that he was about to be arrested in connection with the same airstrike.
British police later canceled the arrest warrant, which had been issued after the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights filed a complaint against the general.
Other IDF commanders who have been targeted by similar lawsuits include Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz and former chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Moshe Ya'alon. Others included on the list, though they cannot be prosecuted while holding senior government posts, include Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, a former defense minister.
posted by Hanan Elbadry at 8:11 AM
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