Gelert to help fight Sharon's Belgian case
By Ben-Zion Citrin (Ha'aretz, July 19, 2001)

Attorney Alon Gelert, who recently quit as legal
advisor to the Prime Minister's Office, will continue
to work privately with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to
counter a war crimes investigation against him in
Belgium. The investigation followed a complaint filed
last month by survivors of the 1982 Sabra and Chatila
massacres in Beirut. More than 800 refugees were
killed by Israel's Lebanese Christian militia allies
during the invasion of Lebanon. The plaintiffs charge
Sharon - defense minister at the time - with
responsibility. Sharon asked Gelert, who will soon
become partner in a private law firm, to continue
working on the case, which he is taking seriously.
Attorney Dov Weisglass is also helping Sharon, in
addition to attorneys from the Justice Ministry. A
Belgian lawyer representing the plaintiffs arrived in
Israel this week to collect testimony against Sharon,
and an independent investigator appointed by the
Belgian courts is expected to follow soon, in
accordance with Belgian law. The 1993 law empowers
Belgium to try people accused of war crimes committed
any place in the world, even if neither of the parties
involved are Belgian. The Belgian government yesterday
decided to put plans to change this law on hold,
saying it would introduce amendments at the end of the
year. The government, under Prime Minister Guy
Verhofstadt, has been embarrassed by the recent use of
the laws to bring cases against Sharon, Rwandan
President Paul Kagame and other international leaders.
Sharon left Brussels out of a recent European tour,
causing red faces in the city, which currently holds
the European Union presidency. Verhofstadt had
therefore planned to alter the legislation so it would
be harder to bring complaints against serving
politicians. However, the government decided to delay
what could be a difficult passage through parliament
for the amendments, saying it could not devote enough
attention to the issue while the country retains the
EU presidency, which runs until December 31.
Opposition parties and some in Verhofstadt's own
liberal-democratic party had advocated amendments,
saying the law makes it too easy for anyone to open
cases against foreigners suspected of war crimes.