Israel Matzav: Reminding Britons of the world they live in

Reminding Britons of the world they live in

Over the weekend, British ambassador to the United Nations John Sawers expressed support for the Goldstone Report.

The UK ambassador to the UN, John Sawers, told Israel Army radio that the report on last winter’s Gaza war contains “some very serious details which need to be investigated by both the Palestinian authorities and the Israeli authorities.”

He added that “serious information” in the document gives rise to the suspicion that violations of the laws of war were committed.

In response, 'Israeli officials' warned that supporting Goldstone could backfire against Britain.

Israeli officials warned in response that any British support for the report would boomerang. If a precedent is set of Israelis being prosecuted for acts during the Gaza war, Britons could also be placed in the dock for actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, they said. “London, which is also in the midst of a war against terror, could find itself in handcuffs if it supports the document,” they said.

It seems that of all the Western countries who have discussed this report, the only one that understands that it may be used against them is the United States (and even there it's not clear that the Obama administration gets it). If Israel is indicted for its actions in Gaza, what can be said about NATO's actions in the former Yugoslavia, which have been shown to be far worse both in terms of numbers of civilians killed and in terms of military nature of the targets?

Think about it British government: What could go wrong?

Israel Matzav: Reminding Britons of the world they live in