A British Jew Committed to Prosecuting Israeli Leaders

Nissan Ratzlav-Katz of Arutz Shevah reports: Attorney Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, chairwoman of the Shurat Hadin legal advocacy organization, told Arutz Sheva Radio yesterday who exactly is behind the effort to prosecute former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon and other IDF commanders. He is Daniel Machover – a British lawyer who is also a former Israeli.Machover, a co-founder of Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, represents the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, based in the Hamas-run Gaza half of the Palestinian Authority. According to Leitner, Machover has dedicated his life to collecting evidence against IDF officers and political leaders in an effort to charge them with war crimes in Europe. He and the center he represents prepare legal ambushes for Israeli military and civilian leaders who visit European countries, hoping to bring about their arrest and prosecution.

“Attorney Daniel Machover is an expatriate Israeli, son of a Communist family that emigrated to England after the Six Day War,” Leitner said. The family left Israel because of what they saw as “the suffering of the Palestinians and the Israeli occupation. The family distanced itself from anything related to Jews and Israel and became close to the Palestinians,” Leitner continued.

According to the Shurat Hadin chairwoman, Machover has been trying to bring about the prosecution of Israeli officers long before the recent Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. “We have been following his activities for several years,” Leitner said. “Thank God, thus far he has not seen the fruits of his efforts and we hope that it will continue to be possible to foil his despicable efforts.”

Click here for the rest of the Arutz Shevah report.

{Arutz Shevah}

{Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel}