(Communicated by the Foreign Minister’s Bureau)
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni directed the Foreign Ministry's Legal Department to continue working as quickly as possible to fully expedite every legal course to void the grave and unacceptable ruling of the Spanish magistrate.
"Israel views the step taken today in Spain with severity, and will continue to work towards the cancellation of the ruling. One way or another, Israel will stand behind, and provide full legal counsel, to all members of the armed forces who acted in the name of the State of Israel. The Spanish magistrate's decision is unacceptable, and Israel will use all the means at its disposal to cancel it."
FM Livni will discuss this matter with Spanish Foreign Minister Moratinos. Noteworthy in this regard, is the government's decision of 2005, which sets out the legal and financial backing that the government will provide to the members of the armed forces.
21:45 29 January 2009
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni spoke a short while ago with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos. In the conversation, FM Livni said that "Israel views the judge's ruling today with severity. The judge made his decision before he received the relevant documents related to the issue, and therefore, it can only be viewed as a political decision rather than a legal one. The Spanish government must understand that regarding the State of Israel, the judge's decision is of consequence not only to those who were actually charged, but to every Israeli who is takes part in the defense of his country. This is an extremely grave and significant incident between states, and that is how Spain must relate to it."
FM Livni said that the incident must be dealt with immediately, and that she expects a reply from Spain regarding how that country intends to solve the problem as soon as possible. The Spanish minister promised that he would forward the severity of FM Livni's remarks to the Spanish Prime Minister as well, and would advise FM Livni of any developments in the matter within the next few days. FM Livni notified Ministers Ben Eliezer and Dichter of the details of their discussion.