Britain pledged Dec. 15 to reform a legal power that lets judges issue arrest warrants for visiting officials accused of war crimes in a foreign conflict.
Lawyers working with Palestinian activists in recent years have sought the arrest of Israeli officials under terms of “universal jurisdiction.”
Tzipi Livni, Israel’s former foreign minister and current opposition leader, was the latest target for her stance on Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials said she canceled a planned London trip this month after her office received news of a secretly issued arrest warrant for her.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling on the British government to stop allowing its legal system to be hijacked. Foreign Secretary David Miliband later announced that Britain would no longer tolerate legal harassment of Israeli officials in this fashion. — ap