The British government is “urgently” considering reforms to the legal system after a British courtissued an arrest warrant for Israeli politician Tzipi Livni, it was revealed tonight.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it was important that senior figures from Israel could visit the UK and have a “proper dialogue”.
The warrant against Ms Livni was apparently granted by a London court over the weekend at the request of Palestinian plaintiffs.
It was revoked yesterday when it emerged the former foreign minister was not due to visit Britain after all.
Ms Livni has claimed the court was “abused” by individuals who wanted to see her put on trial over last year’s assault on Gaza. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has branded the legal action “absurd”.
In a statement tonight, Mr Miliband said he was keen to “avoid this sort of situation arising again”.
“Israel is a strategic partner and a close friend of the UK,” he said.
“We are determined to protect and develop these ties. Israeli leaders — like leaders from other countries — must be able to visit and have a proper dialogue with the British Government.
“The procedure by which arrest warrants can be sought and issued without any prior knowledge or advice by a prosecutor is an unusual feature of the system in England and Wales.
“The Government is looking urgently at ways in which the UK system might be changed in order to avoid this sort of situation arising again.”
The British law has allowed Palestinians to pursue charges against non-citizens for alleged crimes committed outside its borders. The threat already has caused several Israeli officials and retired military commanders to call off trips to Britain.
The Israeli foreign ministry said a warrant had been issued, and it urged Britain to make such legal actions impossible. The ministry said the warrant was later cancelled. It did not explain why, but the Guardian newspaper reported yesterday the warrant was withdrawn after officials learned Ms Livni was not on British soil.
Ms Livni, a one-time lead negotiator with the Palestinians, enjoys a dovish reputation in much of the West.
But as foreign minister, she staunchly defended Israel's devastating military offensive in Gaza early this year. Her support for that operation, meant to end years of rocket fire by Gaza militants against Israel, has remained strong, despite widespread international criticism of the hundreds of civilian casualties.
Ms Livni stepped down after February parliamentary elections and is now Israel's opposition leader.
Her office refused to confirm reports in Arab media yesterday that she had been forced to call off a trip to London because of legal concerns. Instead, it said the trip was canceled for unrelated reasons.
"Israel urges the British government to once and for all honour its promises to take action to prevent anti-Israel forces from exploiting the British legal system to act against Israel and its citizens," the ministry said. "The absence of resolute and immediate action to redress this distortion harms relations between the two countries.
Ms Livni did not directly address the warrant in a speech at a security conferencem today but said, "I have no problem with the fact that the world wants to judge Israel. The problem is the minute they equate terrorists and Israeli soldiers."
The British foreign office said Monday it was looking urgently into the case, adding that Britain was determined to do its best to be a strategic partner of Israel.
"To do this, Israel's leaders need to be able to come to the UK for talks with the British Government," it said.
The incident was the latest in a string of attempts by pro-Palestinian activists to have Israeli officials arrested.
Pro-Palestinian lawyers attempted earlier this year to invoke the "universal jurisdiction" law to arrest Gaza war mastermind Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister, but his status as a cabinet minister gave him diplomatic immunity.
In 2005, a retired Israeli general, Doron Almog, returned to Israel immediately after landing in London because he was tipped off that British police planned to arrest him. The warrant against Mr Almog - who oversaw the bombing of a Gaza home in which 14 people were killed - was later cancelled.
AP