ABU DHABI: A United Arab Emirates (UAE) newspaper on Friday commented on the Belgium Highest Court of Appeal’s decision, which decided to bring suit against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for his barbaric genocide against the unarmed Palestinian people.

Commenting editorially on the issue, the Dubai-based “Gulf News” said: “Sharon is unhappy, Belgium Highest Court of Appeal has decided he can be tried for involvement in killings of Palestinian refugees more than 20 years ago. It was that slaughter which earned Sharon the sobriquet “The Butcher of Sabra and Shatilla”, the paper stated. The paper went on to say, the court made caveat that international custom does not allow heads of government to be the subject of legal action by a foreign state.

It therefore leaves the door open for Sharon to be tried once he is no longer head of government, the paper said, adding that probably Sharon thought he had put his issue to bed when he successfully defended his position — that he was not a resident of Belgium — last summer. But since then, the Belgium administration has plugged that loophole and the amendment is expected to take place this Spring.

“Israel’s president has written to King Albert II arguing that Belgium “does not have the right to doubt that ethical standards” of his country, while the Israeli justice minister charges that “it is unacceptable that this small and insignificant nation would be the judge for the whole world”.

“An accusation that could equally be levied against Israel, which has for so long acted as global judge, jury and executioner against the Palestinians,” the paper concluded.—WAM