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Israeli officers cancel UK trip for fear of arrest

Posted by EU Times on Jan 6th, 2010 // No Comment

After a British arrest warrant was issued for Tzipi Livni on war crimes charges – later withdrawn on discovery that she was not in the country – a number of Israel leaders and army officers have cancelled UK visits Photograph: Gil Cohen Magen/Reuters — After a British arrest warrant was issued for Tzipi Livni on war crimes charges – later withdrawn on discovery that she was not in the country – a number of Israel leaders and army officers have cancelled UK visits

An Israeli military delegation has canceled an official visit to Britain, officials said Tuesday, the latest in a string of politicians and army officials to put off travel to the U.K. because of fears of war crimes prosecution.
Israel complained that the practice, spearheaded by pro-Palestinian activists, is harming relations, and Britain’s visiting attorney general said an urgent solution must be found.
The Israelis called off their trip because their British army hosts could not guarantee they would not be arrested, the Israeli officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. Neither the Israeli military nor the British government would comment.
The incident underlined the effectiveness of a pro-Palestinian legal campaign to harass Israeli officials in the wake of war crimes allegations after Israel’s devastating invasion of Gaza a year ago to stop rocket attacks.
Israelis brand the tactic “lawfare,” which they denounce as warfare through distortion of laws and conventions. It has crimped the travel plans of many officials and put Israel on the defensive in international bodies.
In Britain, pro-Palestinian groups have forced Israelis to cancel trips for fear of arrest, taking advantage of Britain’s “universal jurisdiction” law that allows prosecution of war criminals whose crimes have no direct connection with Britain.
Britain is one of the pioneers of the “universal jurisdiction” concept, but the British government is concerned that its application to Israel is badly straining relations between the two countries and has vowed to solve the problem.

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