Spanish court to probe Israeli officials for alleged 'crimes against humanity'

        National Infrastructure Minister and former Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and former IAF and IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz may face criminal charges in Spain for killing Palestinian civilians seven years ago, Ynet reported. "This is a ludicrous and outrageous decision. Terrorist organizations are using the courts of the free world and the methods of democratic states to prosecute a state that works against terror," said Ben-Eliezer. A Spanish court granted a petition by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights on Thursday, asking the two be investigated for alleged "crimes against humanity" for their involvement in the 2002 assassination of Hamas operative Salah Shehade. Fourteen civilians were killed in the incident and about 100 more were injured. According to a legal source in Madrid, Justice Fernando Andeo decided to grant the Palestinian petition "in the name of universal justice." Shehade was the founder of Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades – the organization's military wing. He was arrested by Israel in the 1980s and later turned over to the Palestinian Authority's custody. The latter set him free in early 2000. Shehade was considered to be the mastermind behind hundreds of deadly terror attacks on Israel. He was targeted by the IAF on July 22, 2002. Defense Minister Ehud Barak earlier lambasted the judge's decision as "hallucinatory." "Whoever calls the assassination of a terrorist a 'crime against humanity' is living in an upside-down world," said Barak, in a statement released by his ministry. Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu also condemned the decision to open the probe. "It's absurd; Israel is fighting against war criminals and they are charging us with crimes?" said Netanyahu, speaking on Army Radio. He added: "There is nothing more ridiculous and absurd than them accusing us, a democracy legitimately protecting itself against terrorists and war criminals, of these crimes; it is absurd and makes a mockery out of international law." (17,29)