Israel tries to accommodate extradition requests from other countries, Justice Ministry International Law Division Director Yuval Kaplinsky said in a rare public appearance at the Israel Bar Association Conference in Eilat, The Jerusalem Post reports.
He was being pressed by lawyer Benny Katz, who represents defendants whose extradition is being requested, about why Israel appears to be so ready to send its citizens to foreign countries when they can be tried here.
Kaplinsky replied: “We look for a way to say ‘yes.’ That is what we want to project to the world and I think we are succeeding.”
He added that if someone surveyed the relevant US and European officials, he thought they would compliment Israel for being cooperative, noting that Israel was cooperative “not because we simply always want to say ‘yes,’ but because in the international arena, we live in a world of reciprocity.”
In other words, he knows that Israel will be asking many countries to extradite Israeli criminals who fled the country to escape justice, and he wants to ensure that Israel’s extradition requests get granted by granting others’ requests where possible.
In addition, he pointed out that Israel has signed international conventions that place obligations on it in the area of extradition, and that “we do not want to be in violation of our obligations.”