Israel was chosen by top European police officials to host the annual International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) conference on May 8-10, marking a historical first for the country. The three-day conference will take place in Tel Aviv and will include 200 representatives from 50 countries. The conference seeks to bring police forces from the various member countries together to coordinate their crime fighting strategies. Attendees will include members of Interpol's executive committee, Israeli and European ministers, police chiefs, observers and police officers involved in the investigations and extraditions of Israeli criminals who have fled to other countries. Interpol members like Italy have cooperated with Israeli police in the past. In August 2007, Italian police arrested Boaz Yona, former CEO of the failed Heftsiba construction company, who was accused of embezzlement and fraud. Yona fled to Italy and was found hiding in the resort town of Castelnuovo del Garda when he was arrested. He was then extradited to Israel in 2008 and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Italian police have also provided Israel with information concerning Israelis abroad who have been involved in criminal activities relating to casinos and prostitution. A senior Israeli police official told Israel Hayom on Wednesday that the Israeli delegation to the conference intends to raise the case of Lee Zeitouni's killers with their French counterparts. Zeitouni, who was 25 at the time of her death, was killed in a hit-and-run accident in September. Claude Issac, 40, was allegedly at the wheel of a black BMW SUV registered to his friend, Eric Rubic, 38, who was in the passenger seat, when they hit Zeitouni in Tel Aviv. Rather than stopping the car or slowing down after hitting her, witnesses reported that the driver of the SUV continued down the road at a high speed. Both suspects, who are French nationals, fled back to France after the incident. The Israel Police subsequently asked Interpol to issue an international warrant for their arrest. After their arrest in France, Israel's Justice Ministry sought to ask Paris to extradite them to Israel to stand trial. However, the French have so far refused to do so as Israel and France do not have an extradition treaty. Interpol is considered the second largest international police organization in the world, with 190 member states. The organization enables police and other law enforcement agencies from different countries to transcend borders and share crime-related information. Information transferred between members is secured through advanced encryption methods and the organization maintains operational police databases. Israel joined Interpol in 1949 and a local branch, known as "Interpol National Central Bureau for Israel," was set up in the country as part of the Intelligence Branch of the Investigations and Intelligence Department. Similar branches are located in nine European countries. Until 2006, Israel belonged to Interpol's Asia group, which hampered its ability to cooperate with the organization as most of Israel's international crime-related operations involved European countries. Israel was then moved to the European group when current Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino served as head of the Investigations and Intelligence Department. "The Israel Police is proud to host those leading the struggle against crime and terrorism, for the first time since [Interpol] was established and since Israel joined Interpol," Danino said. "There is no doubt that the European continent faces many challenges today and cooperation is vital to contain crime and maintain public order for the sake of all citizens."
