De Israelische Terreur 1049

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/14/tzipi-livni-israel-gaza-arrest

British court issued Gaza arrest warrant for former Israeli minister
Tzipi Livni

Warrant issued over war crimes accusations was withdrawn when it
emerged former minister had cancelled plan to visit


* Ian Black and Ian Cobain
* guardian.co.uk, Monday 14 December 2009 19.34 GMT

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni

Former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni. Photograph: Gali Tibbon / AFP

A British court issued an arrest warrant for Israel's former foreign
minister over war crimes allegedly committed in Gaza this year - only
to withdraw it when it was discovered that she was not in the UK, it
emerged today.

Tzipi Livni, a member of the war cabinet during Operation Cast Lead,
had been due to address a meeting in London on Sunday but cancelled
her attendance in advance. The Guardian has established that
Westminster magistrates' court issued the warrant at the request of
lawyers acting for some of the Palestinian victims of the fighting
but it was later dropped.

The warrant marks the first time an Israeli minister or former
minister has faced arrest in the UK and is evidence of a growing
effort to pursue war crimes allegations under "universal
jurisidiction". Israel rejects these efforts as politically
motivated, saying it acted in self-defence against Hamas rocket
attacks from Gaza.

Livni, head of the opposition Kadima party, played a key role in
decisions made before and during the three-week offensive.
Palestinians claim 1,400 were killed, mostly civilians; Israel
counted 1,166 dead, the majority of them combatants.

No one involved in the Westminster episode was prepared to confirm,
on the record, what had transpired in a chaotic series of highly
sensitive legal moves. But a pro-Palestinian group welcomed news of
the abortive move as "long overdue".

The Foreign Office, clearly deeply embarrassed by the episode, said
in a statement: "The UK is determined to do all it can to promote
peace in the Middle East and 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. We are looking urgently at the
implications of this case."

Livni's office said she had decided in advance not to come to the UK
but lawyers seemed unaware of that when they approached the court
last week. The judge refused to issue the warrant until it was clear
Livni was in fact in the country, as he was erroneously informed on
Sunday.

The former minister had been scheduled to speak at a Jewish National
Fund conference. "Scheduled meetings with government figures in
London could not take place close to the conference and would have
necessitated a longer-than-planned absence from Israel," her office
told the Ynet website.

It is the second time in less than three months that lawyers have
gone to Westminster magistrates court asking for a warrant for the
arrest of an Israeli politician. In September the court was asked to
issue one for the arrest of Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister,
under the 1988 Criminal Justice Act, which gives courts in England
and Wales universal jurisdiction in war crimes cases.

Barak, who was attending a meeting at the Labour party conference in
Brighton, escaped arrest after the Foreign Office told the court that
he was a serving minister who would be meeting his British
counterparts. The court ruled he enjoyed immunity under the State
Immunity Act 1978.

According to Israeli sources, ministers who wish to visit the UK in a
personal capacity have begun asking the Israeli embassy in London to
arrange meetings with British officials. These offer legal protection
against arrest.

Livni, crucially, cannot enjoy any such immunity as she is an
ex-minister. Ehud Olmert, the former prime minister, is in the same
position.

Because of the potential damage to UK-Israeli relations - and because
of legal pitfalls facing those who disclosed information about the
application - few people with any detailed knowledge of it were
prepared to comment today.

The Ministry of Justice, Scotland Yard and clerks at the magistrates
court refused to discuss the matter. A statement issued by HM Court
Service implied that there had been no application for an arrest
warrant, stating "there is no record of any such hearing". A
spokeswoman maintained that this was not a misleading statement.

Samuel Hayek, chairman of the Jewish National Fund UK, the charity
whose conference Livni had been due to attend, said: "I am not at
liberty to confirm her precise reasons for not attending." He added:
"In any event, it is regrettable that the British government is
unable to conduct free dialogue with Israel's most senior statesmen
and politicians."

Tayab Ali, the solicitor who tried to obtain a warrant for the arrest
of Barak on behalf of 16 Palestinians, said his firm was "ready,
willing and able to act for clients to seek the arrest of anyone
suspected of war crimes" who travelled to the UK.

Livni's office described her as "proud of all her decisions regarding
Operation Cast Lead". It added: "The operation achieved its
objectives to protect the citizens of Israel and restore Israel's
deterrence capability."