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British police halted Almog arrest
British police halted their attempt to arrest a former Israeli general on war crimes charges following his arrival at London's Heathrow Airport in 2005, fearing an armed confrontation, according to a BBC report on Tuesday. Maj.-Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, former OC Southern Command, evaded arrest by heeding a warning not to disembark from an El Al flight in September 2005. British detectives were waiting to arrest him for allegedly ordering the demolition of Palestinian homes in Gaza in 2002. The BBC claimed to have seen documents revealing that police were concerned about a clash with Israeli air marshals on the plane and thus Almog was able to return home. According to the BBC, documents show that the senior counter-terrorism officer responsible for the operation could not get confirmation that his team had the right to board the plane, and allegedly El Al refused them permission. "Another consideration was that El Al flights carried armed air marshals, which raised issues around public safety," explained Detective Supt. John MacBrayne, the head of the operation. "There was also no intelligence as to whether Almog would have been travelling with personal security as befitted his status, armed or otherwise." MacBrayne concluded there were "real risks" to the police and to the public and he was concerned about the "international impact of a potentially armed police operation at an airport." Posted by: Fred 2008-02-20 |
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