STATEMENT BY JUSTICE MINISTER, MEIR SHEETRIT ON BELGIAN COURT DECISION
Thursday, February 13, 2003

Following the Supreme Court of Belgium's decision yesterday (12/2), the
Minister of Justice, Meir Sheetrit, had expressed his outrage :

It is unacceptable that this small and insignificant nation would be the
judge for the whole world. It is a disgrace for the legal system in that
country. It has the clear scent of a personal hunt for Prime Minister
Sharon, which originated from a deliberate Palestinian initiative.

What have we come to? Could every country now decide to judge anything
that they feel is wrong in another country? In 1982 there was an
official inquiry into this matter (Sabra and Shatila). Legally, this is
practically a world precedent - a law which allows for the prosecution
of a person for alleged actions in the past. It has a clear retroactive
nature to it and is, therefor, unprecedented".

Responding to the claim that the Belgian Supreme Court is independent,
the Minister remarked that: "This decision is a result of a campaign of
pressure applied on the court, and followed a special law that was
passed in their government. This could not be accepted. anyone who
respects International law and the independence of nations must
protest".

The Minister pointed out the pattern of recent decisions made by
Belgium, and in particular the allignment of Belgium with France against
a war in Iraq, a veto in NATO and the siding with the Arab countries
against Israeli positions.

In conclusion the Minister declared that: "we - as a country and as a
legal system - will fight this decision with every tool and in every
institution. It is our duty to make sure that they will not be able to
act as they please".

These comments were made last night for Israeli National Television.