Police to Investigate Olmert for Negotiating Jerusalem's Future
by Hillel Fendel
(IsraelNN.com) The police have received a criminal complaint against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for discussing the future of Jerusalem with a foreign entity - in violation of the Jerusalem Law. However, the police have not reported any progress on investigating the matter.
The complaint was originally filed a month ago by Jerusalem attorney Baruch Ben-Yosef, on behalf of the Victims of Arab Terror International organization, headed by Shifra Hoffman. Copies were also sent to State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, and Attorney General Menachem Mazuz.
However, on Monday of this week, Ben-Yosef sent a reminder to the police, asking why he had not heard from them regarding his complaint.
"On Jan.6," Ben-Yosef wrote, "a complaint was submitted to your office [that of the Jerusalem District Police Commissioner - ed.] regarding intent to perpetrate a crime according to Basic Law: Jerusalem, in that the Prime Minister announced his government's willingness to negotiate with a foreign and hostile entity regarding the division of Jerusalem."
"Ever since the complaint was filed," Ben-Yosef wrote, "and despite the fact that the above negotiations have actually commenced, we have not heard of any progress in the investigation. I request to be advised as to what has been done regarding this matter."
What the Law Says
Clause 6 of "Basic Law: Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel" states, "No authorities over the area of Jerusalem currently under the purview of the State of Israel or the Jerusalem Municipality shall be given over to any foreign political or governmental entity, or any other similar foreign entity, neither permanently or temporarily." Clause 5 states that the Old City and other areas liberated by Israel during the Six Day War are an integral part of Jerusalem for the purposes of this law.
Clause 7 states that the preceding two clauses can be changed only if such a change is supported by a full majority - 61 MKs - of the Knesset.
"According to professional legal opinion," Ben-Yosef wrote in the original complaint, "any negotiations with a foreign entity regarding the division of Jerusalem and/or the giving away of parts of it to any foreign authority, are in total and blatant violation of this law."
The Jerusalem Police Commissioner's office can be faxed at 02-5391466. (From abroad, replace leading 02 with international access code, followed by 9722.)
Topic: Police to Investigate Olmert for Negotiating Jerusalem's Future (Read 2077 times)