http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/13/international/13CND-SHAR.html
Sharon Faces Belgian Trial After Term Ends By JAMES BENNET
JERUSALEM, Feb. 13 — Israeli officials reacted with outrage today to a decision by Belgium's highest court that Belgium could try Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for war crimes once he leaves office.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the foreign minister, lashed out at the decision as "an affront to truth, justice, and the right of the state of Israel to defend itself against terrorism."
"We in Israel and the Jewish people as a whole have had enough of blood libels on the soil of Europe, and we are going to fight this one with everything we have," he said. Israel recalled its ambassador for consultations, while Mr. Netanyahu summoned Belgium's ambassador for a dressing-down. Israeli officials said that ambassador replied that he was not authorized to speak about the matter.
Human rights group were delighted by the court's decision. They hailed it as permitting victims of genocide and war crimes to pursue justice regardless of where in the world the crimes were perpetrated. The Israeli case is one of many pending in Belgium that involve violations of human rights.
Mr. Sharon and a senior official in the defense ministry, Amos Yaron, are being sued by survivors of a 1982 massacre of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon by Lebanese Christian militiamen, who were backed by invading Israeli forces. Mr. Sharon was defense minister at the time of the massacre, in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps.
An Israeli commission later held Mr. Sharon indirectly responsible. He resigned his post but was not prosecuted.
In an interview, Mr. Netanyahu said that Belgium's decision was a blow to the idea of international law, warning that American officials risked a similar fate over wars in Afghanistan or even Vietnam.
At issue is a 1993 Belgian law allowing the courts "universal jurisdiction" over crimes against humanity or war crimes. The court's ruling on Wednesday accorded high officials immunity, but implied that they could be pursued once they left office. The ruling overturned a lower court's decision last year that accused people had to be present in Belgium to be investigated. Mr. Netanyahu connected the decision to resistance by several European nations, including Belgium, to an American-led war in Iraq. He said that the stress of the war on terrorism was revealing weaknesses in European security alliances first exposed by the end of the cold war. "You load the structure, and then you see which parts stand and which parts fail," he said. "There is something deeply immoral and deeply distorted about what's happening in Belgium." Other Israeli officials were equally harsh. The justice minister, Meir Sheetrit, referred to Belgium as "this small and insignificant nation," wondering how it could present itself as "the judge for the whole world." Israel's president, Moshe Katsav, dispatched a severe letter to Belgium's king. Mr. Sharon remained silent today about the matter. Several Israeli officials said that Israel might work to block new Belgian efforts to increase American investment.