fearing arrest, israeli commander cancels studies in u.k.

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/687468.html

Fearing arrest, IDF officer cancels studies in U.K.
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent

The commander of the Israel Defense Forces division along the Gaza border, Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi, was forced to cancel his planned trip to the United Kingdom after the Military Advocacy instructed that he refrain from commencing studies at the Royal College of Defense Studies this summer, fearing that he would be arrested on charges of war crimes.

During the implementation of the disengagement from Gaza and in the months preceding it, Kochavi served as the commander of IDF troops in the Strip. He was the last soldier to leave the Gaza Strip, and he closed the gate behind him. During Operation Defensive Shield, in 2002, he was deployed as a senior commander in the paratroopers. During the operation, some 52 Palestinians and 23 IDF soldiers were killed in Jenin.