U.K. vows to end arrest threats to top Israeli officials
(Haaretz) -- By Barak Ravid --
Britain pledged Tuesday to reform a peculiar legal power that lets judges order the arrest of visiting politicians and generals - a threat currently focused on Israeli visitors that, one day, might be invoked against Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin.
Lawyers working with Palestinian activists in recent years have sought the arrest of senior Israeli civilian and military figures under terms of universal jurisdiction. This ill-defined legal concept empowers judges to issue arrest warrants for visiting officials accused of war crimes in a foreign conflict.
Their latest target is Tzipi Livni, Israel's former foreign minister and current opposition leader, who staunchly defends Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israel's government confirmed Tuesday that she canceled a planned London trip this month after her office received news of a secretly issued arrest warrant awaiting her arrival.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband later announced that Britain would no longer tolerate legal harassment of Israeli officials in this fashion.
Speaking after meeting Israel's London ambassador Tuesday night, Miliband said the British law permitting judges to issue arrest warrants against foreign dignitaries without any prior knowledge or advice by a prosecutor must be reviewed and reformed.
Miliband said the British government was determined that arrest threats against visitors of Livni's stature would not happen again.
"Israel is a strategic partner and a close friend of the United Kingdom. We are determined to protect and develop these ties," Miliband said. "Israeli leaders - like leaders from other countries - must be able to visit and have a proper dialogue with the British government."
Miliband voices shock over arrest warrant in call to Livni
Earlier Tuesday, Miliband called Livni to express his shock over the arrest warrant and pledged to address the matter immediately.
Livni clarified that she doesn't view the arrest warrant as a personal offense, but rather one that affects Israel as a whole. She added that it also harms efforts to operate jointly against threatening elements.
Livni stressed that Israel and Britain must work to solve the problem according to agreements outlined when she was foreign minister.
Miliband earlier in the day denounced the arrest warrant as insufferable, after Israel warned that the matter could harm bilateral ties.
Miliband made the comments during a meeting with Israel's ambassador to Court of St. James, Ron Prosor. The Israeli envoy asked to discuss the matter with Miliband on Monday, following news that Livni had canceled her trip to Britain after a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Prosor told Miliband that the British government must work immediately to combat the grave phenomenon of arrest warrants being issued against senior Israeli officials.
The foreign secretary said he had spoken with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and with Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw in order to try to resolve the problem.
Miliband called Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday and expressed concern over the arrest warrant, saying he and other British parliamentarians found it unacceptable. Miliband also planned to call Livni.
He told Lieberman that solutions must be found in order to prevent this situation from repeating itself in the future.
Lieberman expressed disappointment over Britain's abstention during the United Nations vote on the Goldstone report, which accuses Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes in Gaza, and the Swedish proposal to recognize Jerusalem as a shared Israeli and Palestinian capital.
Also Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry summoned the British envoy to Israel to rebuke him over the warrant...CONT'D...LINK
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