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Prosecuting and imprisoning high Israeli officials is crucial. Henceforth others will feel vulnerable. So will their US counterparts.
Ending their impunity is vital. Expect it eventually. Israeli officials know it. So far their behavior hasn't changed. Universal jurisdiction (UJ) leaves them vulnerable.
UJ is a well established principle. It holds that certain crimes are too grave to ignore. They include genocide, crimes of war and against humanity. Like America and key NATO partners, Israel is guilty multiples times over.
UJ permits nations to investigate and prosecute foreign nationals when countries of residence don't, won't, or can't for any reason. Israel used it to convict and execute Adolph Eichmann.
A US court sentenced Chuckie Taylor to 97 years in prison for torture. He's former Liberian President Charles Taylor's son. The Hague convicted and sentenced his father to 50 years imprisonment for war crimes and other offenses.
Though never held accountable for murdering Chileans and other human rights abuses, Britain used a Spanish court provisional warrant to apprehend Augusto Pinochet.
He was held him under house arrest for 18 months. It set a precedent. It let other heads of state and top officials know they're vulnerable. Pinochet's bogus ill health claim sent him home. He arrived irreparably damaged and disgraced.
Other top officials who matter most haven't been targeted. UJ permits doing it. Justice demands it be done.
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