Muslim Lawyers Association Demands Arrest of Ex-Israeli President Shimon Peres

TEL AVIV – A group of Muslim lawyers have filed a petition to arrest “tyrannical” former Israeli President Shimon Peres upon his arrival in South Africa on a fundraising trip next week.

The Muslim Lawyers Association presented documents to the National Prosecution Authority of South Africa, according to pro-Muslim advocacy group, the Media Review Network.

“The Media Review Network (MRN) is pleased to announce that urgent steps are underway to secure the arrest of a senior Israeli war criminal, Shimon Peres,” the statement read.

“We at the MRN are deeply perturbed that Peres, known for various human rights violations and unspeakable war crimes such as the Kana massacre [the shelling of a UN compound in Lebanon in 1996] has been invited to South Africa. … The MRN fully supports the position taken by the MLA.”

The statement continues,

Peres has been an enigmatic politician all his life. He has never won an election. In a democracy, a politician is expected to be elected and reelected. He never was. Even his position as president of the Zionist state was by default. When the incumbent, Moshe Katzav, uncovered as a women molester and had to resign, was Peres elected by a contrite Knesset. This was his definitive humiliation. And now this man, whom almost everybody loved to hate, is coming to South Africa.

The MRN is hopeful that the request to have Peres arrested and charged will be successful. We pledge our full support for this initiative and call on all relevant authorities to give expression to South Africa’s obligations under the provisions of the Rome Statute.

The backlash was swift, with many people ridiculing the move.

One person commented, “Nothing is quite as nauseating as Islamic groups lecturing the rest of humanity about human rights.” Another wrote, “But Hamas was welcomed here [in South Africa]. Explain that.”

A third mocked the MRN’s condemnation of Peres for never having won an election, saying, “This is hypocritical and disingenuous. How many leaders of the Muslim world are elected democratically? Desperate stuff.”

On Twitter, however, the hashtag #ArrestPeres has been gaining momentum among pro-Palestinian groups.

In June 2013, the Muslim Lawyers Association called for the arrest and prosecution for war crimes of US President Barack Obama. According to the Jerusalem Post, the document submitted to the public prosecutor amounted to more than 600 pages.