Israel’s Foreign Ministry has suspended trips of government officials to Britain out of fear that they might be arrested there for alleged war crimes. The news was announced during a visit by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague in Jerusalem. Despite assurances, successive British government have not yet repealed universal jurisdiction laws allowing private war crimes lawsuits to be filed against foreign dignitaries.
Since 2005, several serving and former Israeli leaders have had to cancel trips to Britain after being warned they could be arrested for their role in military crackdowns on Palestinians. The latest was Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, who was scheduled to fly to Britain last month but, according to Israeli media, received word he would risk prosecution for the IDF raid on a Turkish ship in which nine activists were killed.
"As long as [Israeli delegates] cannot come to Britain without fearing arrest, they won't come. They will go as soon as there is no such threat,” said a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. Britain's Conservative-led government, like its Labor predecessor, has pledged to restrict existing provisions empowering magistrates to order the arrest of foreign nationals for alleged offenses committed abroad.
