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UK police feared confrontation over arrest of general

British police feared an armed confrontation if they tried to arrest an Israeli army general accused of war crimes, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

Retired General Doron Almog dodged a British arrest warrant in 2005 by staying on his plane at London's Heathrow airport after a tip-off that police there were waiting to detain him.

The Israeli El Al plane whisked him straight home, and the arrest warrant was eventually dropped for procedural reasons.

Police feared an armed confrontation with air marshals or Almog's security detail if they stormed the aircraft, the BBC said, citing documents prepared for the Independent Police Complaints Commission, a police watchdog.

no comment

The commission, which concluded its investigation into the incident last year, declined to comment on the documents, saying only that there was nothing improper about the police's decision not to board the plane.

El Al referred all questions to the country's internal security service, which secures its planes. The security service did not immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment. London police also declined comment.

The war crimes allegations stemmed from Almog's role as commander of the Israeli army in Gaza in 2002, when Israeli forces destroyed 59 houses in Rafah refugee camp, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

Israel said at the time that buildings it razed were empty and being used to fire on Israeli soldiers. But the rights group alleges the destruction was not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully -- making it a war crime.

A warrant for Almog's arrest was issued on Sept. 10, 2005 by the a magistrates' court in central London, the human rights center said.

war crimes

The group had filed a complaint in Britain against Almog under a law that gives Britain the power to charge foreigners with war crimes, even if Britain or its citizens were not involved.

Senior foreign officials, including heads of state, are typically protected from arrest or prosecution. Almog, in Britain to raise money for an Israeli center for brain-damaged children, did not benefit from such immunity.

The attempt to arrest the general still worries Israeli officials.

In December, Israeli public security minister Avi Dichter turned down an invitation to visit Britain out of concern that he could be arrested for his role in the 2002 assassination of a senior Hamas militant in Gaza, spokesman Mati Gill said.
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