Rights groups put Australian gov’t on notice over alleged ‘war criminal’ campaigning for Israel

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Human rights groups Tuesday alerted the Australian government over events in the country by an alleged Israeli ‘war criminal,’ urging Canberra to hold him accountable.

The Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) in a joint statement called on the Australian government to "cancel any visa issued" to Doron Almog, a former major general in the Israeli army.

Almog is in Australia to speak at events from Sunday until Thursday, “as part of fundraising efforts for the United Israel Appeal."

In a letter to Australian immigration, as well as foreign ministers, the groups asked the officials to "exercise relevant powers to deny Almog's entry to Australia because he fails the character test for an Australian visa."​​​​​​​

According to Rawan Arraf, the executive director at the ACIJ, Almog is already in Australia and is “scheduled to speak tonight in Melbourne.”

Almog is the "subject of serious credible allegations of involvement in war crimes in Gaza between 2001 and 2003," said the joint statement.

If Almog was allowed entry into the country, the statement added, "then they (officials) must refer him to the Australian Federal Police for criminal investigation, as Australia is legally obliged to under international law."

In a detailed dossier against Almog submitted to the government, the rights groups claimed he is accused of "a series of war crimes resulting from his time as General Officer Commanding of the Israeli military’s Southern Command from 8 December 2000 to 7 July 2003."

"Under his command," it said, "the Israeli military were responsible for countless variety of extensive human rights violations and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions inside the occupied Gaza Strip."

Almog first visited Australia in March 2016 for a similar tour with "another suspected war criminal: the chief architect of Israel’s 2014 military assault on Gaza, Benny Gantz, who is currently serving in the Israeli government’s war cabinet," said the rights groups.

"Israel has refused to investigate credible allegations against Almog, and he has evaded justice, fleeing London in September 2005 after a warrant was issued for his arrest by the Chief London Magistrate," it added.

Arraf, the ACIJ office bearer, said: "The war crimes allegations against Almog are serious and credible. The infamous and unlawful air strike in the densely populated al-Daraj neighborhood in 2002 was the first time Israel dropped a one-ton bomb in Gaza in an extrajudicial assassination which killed 14 civilians, including 8 children, and injured 150 more."​​​​​​​

"If the Australian government refuses to cancel Almog’s visa, it must refer him for criminal investigation and prosecution. The Australian Government is under legal obligation to search for and arrest those suspected of grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions," Arraf added.