HiddenMysteries: Iran works in lawful circles - Israel is the lawless criminal

Iran works its way to Israel prosecution for attempting the violent overthrow of the democratically elected government of Palestine and Israeli war crimes.

As criminal charges against Israel gain momentum, Iran takes preliminary steps for legal action against implicated Israeli officials.

Some 5,700 Iranian lawyers filed a compliant on Monday against 24 Israeli leaders and commanders suspected of committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Iran's Judiciary responded late on Monday by stepping and taking matters into its own hands.

Iranian Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi tasked Tehran's Prosecutor General Saeed Mortazavi with handling the complaint against Israeli officials.

In a separate ruling, Farrokhzad Jahani was appointed as the special interrogator to the case.

Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni are among the officials accused of war crimes.

Other Israeli officials charged with war crimes are as follows:

- Commander-in-Chief of Israeli Air Force Major General Ido Nehushtan -- responsible for shelling residential areas in Gaza with phosphorus bombs

- Israeli Chief Intelligence Officer Brigadier General Yuval Halamish

- Israeli Chief of Staff General Gabi Ashkenazi

- Major-General Yoav Galant -- the IDF's Southern Command Chief

- Israel's Military Intelligence Chief Major General Amos Yadlin

- Head of the Israeli 51 battalion Colonel Avi Peled

- Colonel Hartzi Halevi -- paratroops brigade commander

- Colonel Yigal Slovik -- commander of 401st Armored Corps Brigade convoy

- Brigadier-General Eyal Eisenberg

- Colonel Ron Ashrov -- commander of the northern Gaza operation and deputy to the Givati Brigade

- Brigadier General Zvika Fogel -- head of Southern Command in charge of artillery fire for Operation Cast Lead

- Brigadier General Jonathan Locker -- head of the Israeli air forces that operated in Gaza

- Major Nimrod Aloni

- Colonel Tomer Tsiter -- a Givati squad commander from Ra'anana

- Lieutenant Colonel Shlomo Saban

- Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi

- Brigadier General Moshe Ya'elon

- Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz

The move by Iran's Judiciary comes after an international conference, which wrapped up in Morocco on Sunday, called for Israeli civil and military officials to be sued for "war crimes and crimes against humanity"

"Israel is fully responsible for the mass destruction, by its forces, of education, science, culture and public service buildings, houses, hospitals, prayer places, and UN institutions" in the Gaza Strip, said the Rabat Declaration adopted by the conference late Sunday.

The document also calls for the establishment of a 12-member commission comprising of international lawyers, representatives of international human rights groups and physicians who witnessed the Israeli crimes. The commission will prepare a file to be presented to the International Court of Justice for an "advisory opinion".

Earlier on Friday, Palestinian authorities called on prosecutors of the International Criminal Court to investigate the suspected Israeli war crimes during the recent conflict in Gaza.

Israel's three-week offensive against Gaza -- aimed at toppling the democratically-elected government of Hamas confined to the Palestinian territory -- left at least 1,330 Palestinians dead, more than half of them civilians, according to medical sources.

The Israeli assault led to the destruction of schools, mosques, houses, UN compounds and government buildings, which Israel has a responsibility to protect under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The revelation of the identity of commanders responsible for carrying out the Israeli operations against civilians comes in spite of an order by Israeli authorities banning the publication of the full name and photographs of the field commanders of the Gaza onslaught.

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Iran works in lawful circles - Israel is the lawless criminal

Tuesday, February 17 2009 @ 09:36 PM CST