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| By: Israel Insider staff and partners |
| Published: April 12, 2006 |
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A British legislator on Tuesday said sanctions should be imposed against Israel if it does not hand over those suspected of responsibility for killing two British civilians.
Gerald Kaufman, a Labour Party lawmaker who has frequently criticized Israel, called for trials in Britain or before an international tribunal for those accused of killing anti-Israel activist Tom Hurndall and filmmaker James Miller in 2003.
A coroner's jury on Monday ruled that Hurndall, 22, had been intentionally killed while acting as a human shield, and another jury concluded last week that Miller, 34, had been murdered.
One soldier was convicted in Israel of killing Hurndall, but no one was convicted in the Miller case.
"One possibility is to ask for those who are accused of these murders to be brought to Britain to be tried in this country," Kaufman said in an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
"The second is to put them before an international war crimes tribunal.
"If the Israelis don't agree to either of those then I think we have got to consider economic sanctions against Israel."
But Andrew Dismore, vice chairman of the Labour Friends of Israel group in Parliament, said such action would achieve little.
"Obviously we have to have great sympathy for the families of the two British citizens who have been killed but the fact remains that Israel is a democracy, it operates under the rule of law," Dismore said.
Coroner Andrew Reid, who led the British inquests into both Hurndall and Miller's deaths, said he would write to Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, the country's chief legal adviser, asking him to take action to ensure that Britons engaged in lawful activities in Israel and the Palestinian territories are safe.
Reid's office did not say whether he would recommend any specific actions.
A spokesman for Goldsmith declined to comment on what the attorney general might do, saying only that he would wait for the letter and review the evidence from the inquests.
Coroners are empowered only to hold inquests that determine the cause and circumstances of a Briton's death. If they feel further action is necessary, they can recommend it to the relevant authorities, as Reid has done.
Imran Khan, a lawyer for the Hurndall family, did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday.
Hurndall's father Anthony said after the inquest verdict that the family would press the British government to see that others are prosecuted.
"That involves all those responsible within the chain of command," he said.
AP contributed to this report. |
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