Discreet talks between Israel
and Holland prevented the arrest of Minister Ami Ayalon (Labor) by Dutch authorities, Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, In May, when Ayalon attended a conference in Holland marking Israel's 60th anniversary, a local attorney representing a Palestinian who claimed to have been tortured by the Shin Bet between 1999-2000, during Ayalon's tenure as head of the Israel security agency, turned to Holland's attorney-general and demanded that the Israeli minister be detained.
Word of the attorney's request reached officials in Jerusalem, who immediately contacted Dutch authorities to make certain Ayalon would not be arrested. Due to Holland's speedy and positive response to Israel's plea, the possibility of spiriting Ayalon out of the country immediately, as was the case with Minister Shaul Mofaz's visit to London, was not considered.
Ayalon was informed of the incident only two days after returning to Israel.
A few days ago the attorney sent a letter of complaint to the International Court of Justice in The Hague in which she claimed that the Dutch attorney-general "let a man suspected of torture escape arrest".
Minister Ayalon's said in a statement "I am proud of everything I did throughout my career to fight terror, including during my tenure as head of the Shin Bet."
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