The Israeli news agency, Haaretz has reported that a group of Israeli human rights activists has defied their government by calling for the arrest of fifteen Israeli public figures for human rights abuses. The website is anonymous but many other sources claim that it has been made by Israeli human rights campaigners.

The group has not hesitated to name senior individuals such as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who has been held responsible for the deaths of 1,200 people during the bombing of Lebanon in July 2006, and the Foreign Affairs minister Tzipi Livni. The warrants include details of human rights abuses made by each suspect, previous complaints and forthcoming travel details. The warrant for Ehud Olmert includes an official complaint to the International Criminal Court by the Lebanese Government on the 10th December 2008, details of his crimes and a leading reference to the expiration of his diplomatic immunity in March 2009.

Among the suspects is Ehud Barack, the Israeli Defence Minister who has been accused of inflicting collective punishment on the inhabitants of the Gaza strip. The website and call for arrests of Israeli public officials may seem like an outlandish operation and it is unlikely that any such action will be taken. However, it is perceived as part of the mounting national and international pressure on Israel to address reconciliation for human rights abuses.