Israeli former chief of staff may be arrested in Canada for War Crimes

Palestinian groups and leftist activists in have asked the Canadian authorities on Wednesday to arrest the former Israeli Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon as war criminal on entry to the country, Israeli sources reported.
The groups argue that Yaalon is a war criminal as head of the Israeli army during much of the Intifada. 

The case of the latest in a series of such requests, in which leftists and Arabs have appealed to the Belgian, British and other governments to arrest former Israeli generals on entry.

Nine months ago, an arrest warrant was issued in for reserve major general Doron Almog, ex-commander of the army in the Gaza Strip where many Palestinians were killed and thousands of houses were demolished by the army.  Almog ultimately refrained from visiting . 

Israeli officials believe will not adhere to the request.  

"The law in is different from the British law," Israeli Ambassador to Canada Alan Baker said, adding that Canadian regulations were much more stringent regarding the grounds for disqualifying entry or arrest on arrival. 

The ambassador said that he himself had been criticized in for living in Har Adar settlement near Jerusalem, which is build over West Bank land confiscated from Palestinians.

All settlements built on West Bank land are illegal, according to International law as they are built on occupied land.