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FM: Rules of war must be rewritten

Nov. 11, 2009
Tovah Lazaroff , THE JERUSALEM POST

Foreign Minister Avigdor places a wreath at a monument during a memorial ceremony for Denmark's Jewry, Monday.

The rules of war need to be changed to allow democracies to combat terrorist threats, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Danish Justice Minister Brian Mikkelsen on Tuesday.

"These organizations use women and children as human shields. They also hide in hospitals and school, as Hamas did in Gaza," Lieberman said in Denmark.

But the laws of war do not address this situation and instead focus on conflicts between nations and armies, Lieberman said.

He spoke with Mikkelsen as part of the continuing diplomatic campaign the government has waged to solicit support in the international community to reject the findings of the Goldstone Report, which accused Israel of war crimes for its military actions in Gaza last winter.

Israel has argued that the report's conclusions could make it difficult for all democracies to combat terrorism.

The two men spoke of the global war on terror and Lieberman said that Israel would be happy to share its expertise in this arena with the Danish.

Lieberman is on a five-day trip to Denmark and the Netherlands with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon to talk about regional issues and to strengthen bilateral ties.

They also discussed the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the role the US has played as mediator.

In his meeting with his Danish counterpart, Per Stig Muller, Lieberman criticized the Arab states for their lack of support for the peace process.

These nations "contribute less than the rest of the world to improving the lives of Palestinians on the ground and the normalization of relations between the Palestinians and Israel," he said.

He added that the United States was the only mediator that could push the Palestinians to talk with Israel. "Israel is willing to open direct negotiations immediately, but in light of their current stance, only the US can bring the Palestinians to the negotiating table."

He was not the only Israeli leader to speak of the central role the US plays in the peace process.

"The presidency of Barack Obama provides a rare opportunity to reach a real peace with the Palestinians," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said before he met with US special envoy George Mitchell in Washington on Tuesday.

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