APA TO HAUL ISRAEL TO INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

JAKARTA, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- The Asian Parliamentary Association (APA) will haul
Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICI) for war crimes, said APA
president Agung Laksono here Thursday.

He said the move was in line with the resolution at an emergency meeting of
the Parliamentary Union of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (PUIC)
member states in Istanbul, Turkey Wednesday.

"Speakers of Asian parliaments will bring the guilty to the ICI as war
criminals," said Agung, Speaker of the Indonesia parliament, as reported by
Antara, the Indonesian news agency.

He said if the former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, who was accused of
killing 168 people could be sentenced to death, then Israel's atrocities in
Gaza must be investigated and the individuals responsible brought to justice.

Agung said the PUIC emergency session discussed three main matters which
were an immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza and
lifting the blockade to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid from all over
the world.

"The ICI will be approached speedily on the war crimes," Agung said,
accompanied at a news conference by Abdillah Toha, head of Indonesia's
inter-parliamentary cooperation body.

Agung said the support of Islamic countries to resolve the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not at an optimum level and the PUIC emergency
meeting attended by speakers of 47 parliaments resolved to exert political
pressure to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

"What is important is that humanitarian aid be channeled immediately to the
Palestinians who are suffering," he said, adding that he and the speakers of
Syria and Iran also met Hizbullah leader, Sheikh Nasrullah, in his hideout in
Beirut.

Israel's atrocities till Wednesday has resulted in more than 1,000
Palestinians being killed, a third of them children.
-- BERNAMA