Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni. Photo: AJN file

LONDON — Hamas has acknowledged that it masterminded the campaign to pursue war crimes cases against Israeli politicians and military officials in Britain and other European countries.

The group, considered to be a terrorist organisation by the United Kingdom and the European Union, says it has been working with lawyers to have the Israelis charged with war crimes in connection with Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in December 2008.

According to reports in two major British newspapers, The Times and the Daily Telegraph, the Islamic organisation is acting to have Israeli leaders arrested in the United Kingdom.

Earlier this month, a judge in London issued an arrest warrant against Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni on suspicion of committing war crimes during the Gaza war. The warrant was withdrawn when it became clear that the Kadima leader was not in Britain.
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JERUSALEM - There is ‘Israeli consensus’ that the southeastern Jerusalem Jewish neighborhood of Gilo belongs to Israel, opposition leader Tzipi Livni said on Wednesday, taking issue with a harsh condemnation from US President Barack Obama over the Jerusalem municipality’s plans to build 900 apartments there.
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Madonna (left) and Israeli MP Tzipi Livni. Photo: Isranet

POP star Madonna has been in Israel for a series of concerts as part of her world tour.

She took time out to enjoy dinner in a Tel Aviv restaurant with Kadima opposition chairwoman Tzipi Livni and her husband Naftali Shpitzer.

Madonna’s new 22 year-old boyfriend Jesus Luz also joined the dinner party.

Last Friday, Madonna was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

Isranet

AMNON MIRANDA

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected the Opposition’s accusations during a Kadima-initiated Knesset plenum discussion on the subject “A failing and flip-flopping prime minister on the political and economic fronts.”
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Call for unity

AS the dust settles and the finger-pointing starts, most discussions in the wake of the Israeli elections are centering on Kadima, or, perhaps more to the point, its leader Tzipi Livni. The question now is whether Livni, whose party won the most seats at the election, will sit in opposition or join a unity government led by Likud’s Benyamin Netanyahu.

As President Shimon Peres said at the opening of the 18th Knesset on Tuesday, Israelis have consistently and overwhelmingly expressed their desire for a unity government over other alternatives. Netanyahu himself has repeatedly stated his preference for unity and his willingness to compromise in order to attain it. Read the full story