Israel has launched a fierce counter-attack against efforts in Belgium to try Ariel Sharon for war crimes amid warnings from its officials that Israeli army officers and other senior government figures face a growing threat of arrest and prosecution in Europe for their conduct during the Palestinian intifada.
The Israeli ForeignMinistry is so concerned, it has ordered past and present army officials and security service agents to avoid travelling to countries where they could find themselves in an "embarrassing situation" .
It has also instructed its diplomats across Europe to send home dossiers of information about the local criminal justice systems so that it can identify those nations where visiting Israelis could face the threat of arrest.
Reversing an earlier policy of ignoring the Belgian case, Israeli officials confirmed yesterday that the government had now hired lawyers in Belgium, where a judge is pondering whether to indict Mr Sharon for his role in the 1982 Sabra and Shatilla massacres.
The case was, said one official in Jerusalem, "being taken very seriously."
Officials in Mr Sharon's government are particularly concerned that the lawsuit could spawn attempts to bring war crimes charges against the chief of staff of Israel's armed forces, Shaul Mofaz; the commander of the air force, Dan Hilutz , and other military officials - even pilots - over the conflict with the Palestinians.
A host of military measures carried out by Israeli security forces have been condemned by human rights organisations as illegal under international law - including at least 45 assassinations; the use of torture; the shooting dead of hundreds of unarmed demonstrators; blasting Palestinian police station with F-16 bombers, and a military siege of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israel has repeatedly defended these actions as necessary defensive measures in the face of suicide bombings and other assaults, a view underscored yesterday by one of Israel's two chief rabbis, Meir Lau.
He issued a statement saying that Israel's assassinations policy - which he described as "interceptions" - has the full backing of Jewish religious law as it was part of a "war of commandment" mandated by God.
