Doron Almog - 2005 London Escape

2005 London Escape

On September 10, 2005, as he and his wife arrived in London on an El Al flight to do fundraising for Aleh, a handicapped services organization which he helped found, Almog was tipped off by the Israeli Embassy that a warrant had been issued for his arrest on suspicion of violating the 1949 Geneva Convention in connection with home destructions in Gaza. The warrant was issued by Chief London Magistrate Timothy Workman of the Bow Street Magistrates' Court. The petition for the arrest warrant had been filed by Daniel Machover and Kate Maynard, acting as attorneys for the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. Machover is the head of Civil Litigation for Hickman & Rose Solicitors (London), and, co-founder (in 1988) of Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights. Maynard is a member of Hickman & Rose. The warrant was considered urgent, and so was not brought before the English Attorney-General to approve. After Almog's escape, the warrant was cancelled in light of the fact that Almog had left Britain and was no longer under the court's jurisdiction.

Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism officers were stationed at the immigration desk. Almog was to be arrested when he presented himself, and taken to a police station. News of the plan leaked to the Israeli Embassy, and when Almog landed, the Israeli military attache informed him in advance that there was an arrest warrant for him, advising him to stay on the plane and return to Israel. El Al denied police permission to board the plane. Almog and his wife remained on the plane for two hours before it took off for Ben Gurion International Airport. Police did not board the plane to arrest Almog or prevent the plane from departing.

It later emerged that the senior counter-terrorism officer in charge of the operation had feared for public safety and the diplomatic impact of a potential armed confrontation with Almog's bodyguards or El Al sky marshals should police have boarded the plane and attempted to execute the warrant. It was suspected that with a person of Almog's stature on board, there may have been as many as four or five sky marshals on the plane. There was also no intelligence on whether Almog had personal bodyguards. A second concern was the legal implications of boarding the plane after El Al had refused police entry.

After the failed arrest, Attorney Daniel Machover demanded an investigation of why police failed to board Almog's plane, and of who leaked news of the impending arrest. Machover also demanded that Israel's Foreign Ministry waive their diplomatic privileges to facilitate investigation. Peter Clarke, the UK anti-terrorism coordinator refused these demands, stating that he lacked resources for such an investigation. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw apologized to his Israeli counterpart over the attempted arrest, and said that warrant has been withdrawn. The Guardian reported that the UK government was "examining stopping private individuals applying to magistrates for prosecutions over war crimes..." A review by Independent Police Complaints Commission was unable to identify the source of the leak.

In 2006, Attorney Kate Maynard was arrested when she arrived in Israel to participate in an academic seminar on international justice, pending deportation to Britain. While in detention, she was interrogated by Shin Bet. She appealed the order for her deportation, and the Tel Aviv District Court recommended that she not be deported. However, the Israeli State Prosecution rejected the court's ruling, and she was expelled from Israel and banned from re-entering. Maynard later stated that she intended to take legal action in Britain to ensure her entry into Israel would not be prevented in the future.

In 2009, Almog was among the Israeli officials investigated by the National Court, a special and exceptional court in Spain, over the 2002 assassination of Hamas official Salah Shehade. The investigation was dropped on grounds that the attack had already been investigated by Israel.