14.05.2013

Wall prosecution dropped

The Dutch public prosecutor - the Openbaar Ministerie (OM) - has dropped all charges against Lima Holding BV over the company’s alleged involvement in the construction of the Israeli barrier and of an industrial estate near a settlement on the West Bank. And cleared Riwal of any involvement.

The OM has made it clear that any further investigation would be a complex matter and said: “no such investigation will now be pursued as, once charges had been brought, Lima Holding started to wind down its activities in Israel and the occupied territories, and has already taken major steps to terminate them completely. The OM´s decision not to prosecute was also influenced by the fact that Lima made only a limited contribution to the construction of the barrier and settlements. This involved the occasional use of various cranes and elevated platforms, for periods of a few days, sometimes under lease to third parties”.

The announcement also said that it has also been clarified that the case had no connections to international rental company Riwal.

The case was stirred up by Liesbeth Zegveld of Böhler, an Amsterdam human rights lawyer, who issued a press release in 2010 stating that she had filed a criminal complaint against Riwal on behalf of the Palestinian organization Al-Haq, which had claimed that the company’s equipment has been used to help build the wall between Israel and Palestine, which was declared illegal according to International law by the International Court of the Hague in 2004.

Lima holding is one of the holding companies for Doron Livnat, who also controls ProDelta which owns Hovago, Holland Lift and Riwal which is where the original connection would most likely have been made.

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Vertikal Comment

The chances of a prosecution always seemed slight but whatever the facts were in this case it is scandalous that it has taken over three years for the OM to reach this decision.