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Israeli foreign minister heads to Switzerland to end arrest threat against Israelis

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz leads a delegation to Switzerland for high-level meetings to find a solution regarding a Swiss law that allows Israeli military and political leaders to be arrested for war crimes.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz. Photo: screenshot.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz. Photo: screenshot.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz traveled to Switzerland for an official visit on Monday, together with a legal team, to try to find a solution regarding Swiss legislation allowing Israeli politicians and military officials to be arrested in Switzerland on war-crimes charges.

He held talks in Lucerne with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis on Monday. On Tuesday, he was set to meet Swiss President Ueli Maurer, according to Israel’s Ynet online news site.

Katz aims to convey Israel’s view that it is unacceptable for the Jewish state to be denied its right of self-defense as it battles against radical Islamic terrorists, according to the report.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert canceled a planned trip to Switzerland this summer after being warned he could be arrested.

“We have seen what happens when hatred of Jews moves from the fringes of society into organized political power,” Rabbi Steven Burg of Aish told JNS.
“We are dismantling the Oslo Accords through our actions; we are returning home,” said Binyamin Regional Council head Yisrael Gantz.
“The public targeting of Jewish businesses should alarm every person of conscience,” Jewish groups stated.
“Israel is a very thriving country,” the U.S. president said. “They don’t need it.”