Netanyahu bows to China on US lawsuit
Prime minister bars Israeli agents from giving evidence against Bank of China
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has bowed to Chinese pressure and barred intelligence officers from testifying in a US lawsuit against the Bank of China, a newspaper reported.
The Yediot Aharonot, a top-selling daily in Israel, said Netanyahu's actions had irked the United States.
Its report referred to a lawsuit filed in a New York court in 2008 by families of victims of "terrorist attacks" that rocked Israel between May 2004 and January 2007.
They claim the Islamist Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad transferred through the Bank of China millions of dollars which were allegedly used to fund the deadly attacks.
Netanyahu made a five-day state visit to China in May and, according to Yediot, the Beijing leadership invited him on the condition he prevent Israeli intelligence officers from testifying in the lawsuit.
Lawyer Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, who represents 22 Israeli families, some of whom have lost relatives in the attacks, slammed Netanyahu for yielding to pressure from China.
"Netanyahu, who wants to show that he is at the forefront of the fight against terrorism, has given in to considerable pressure from China," she said.