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Embarrassment at FO over Tzipi Livni arrest warrant
If Livni had come to London on Sunday, she could have been arrested over Gaza war crimes
One of Israel's most senior opposition politicians, Tzipi Livni, might have been arrested on a warrant for war crimes had she visited London last weekend as had been mooted. In the event, she did not come and the arrest warrant, issued by Westminster magistrates' court, was withdrawn.
News of the warrant, issued because of Mrs Livni's involvement in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza nearly a year ago when she was foreign minister, has caused deep embarrassment at the British Foreign Office, which was forced to issue a statement denying that it had played any part in the affair.
"The UK is determined to do all it can to promote peace in the Middle East and to be a strategic partner of Israel," said the FO statement. "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."
Mrs Livni leads the centrist Kadima party and narrowly missed becoming the Israeli prime minister in March this year. According to a report in the Guardian, the warrant was issued at the request of lawyers representing Palestinian victims of the invasion of Gaza, in which more than 1,400 Palestinian died in the period December 2008 - January 2009.
As Ehud Olmert's foreign minister, Livni (pictured above with Olmert) was a member of the Israel war cabinet that took the decision to invade Gaza in response to Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli civilians. There were complaints from human rights campaigners across the world at the time - and since - that the Israeli response was disproportionate and that the employment by the Israelis of various tactics and weapons - especially the alleged use of white phosphorous shells - went against the spirit of the Geneva Convention.
The Westminster court appears to have issued the warrant based on information that Livni was in Britain to address the Jewish National Fund UK's annual conference on Sunday. When it transpired that she had not come, the warrant was withdrawn.
According to the Jerusalem Post Livni declined the invitation to speak because she was unable to get a meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Instead she spoke to the conference via video link. The Post claimed there was no question of Livni cancelling her trip because she feared being arrested.
The warrant - or aborted warrant - marks the first time that a serving Israeli minister or former minister has faced arrest in Britain. It illustrates an increasing effort among human rights lawyers to pursue alleged war criminals under "universal jurisidiction".
It also comes at a time of growing anticipation that Tony Blair could be indicted for war crimes over the invasion of Iraq, in the light of evidence coming out of the Chilcot Inquiry, and after Blair's own admission in a BBC interview on Sunday that he would have gone to war to topple Saddam Hussein regardless of the WMDs issue.
The Guardian quoted a pro-Palestinian group welcoming news of the abortive move against Livni as "long overdue".
Despite the international condemnation, Livni has remained bullish ever since the Gaza ceasefire that Israel had the right to invade because of the Hamas rocket attacks. She even said in September that she was prepared to stand trial at the International Court of Justice in The Hague to defend the actions of the Israeli military.
"There have already been petitions against me in various countries," Livni said. "I was a partner to the decisions in the operation in Gaza... I believe in the morality of the IDF soldiers, and if they try to indict me, I am prepared to come say such things if necessary."
One mystery remains: why was it so important for Livni to get a meeting with Gordon Brown? Was it to justify her trip - or did she believe it might protect her in the event of an arrest?
The Guardian reports that, 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.
However, the understanding is that this immunity would only apply to a serving minister, not a former one. So Livni - and, for that matter, Ehud Olmert - would not be protected, even if they had an appointment in town with the Prime Minister. ·
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'Try thinking without hate' is recommended by someone called Peter Simmons. Yes, Peter Simmons.
The recent UN report into crimes against humanity committed during the Gaza incursion names Hamas as well as Israel as perpetrators. Most of us recognise that Hamas were not able then (and even less so now) to mount attacks on anything like the scale that Israel perpetrated in Gaza, and an alleged goal falls well short of a war crime. The anti Semitic smears in response to criticism of Israel's atrocities are wearing just a tad thin. Arabs - therefore Palestinians - are a Semitic race too.
Moshe Yaalon, an Israeli cabinet minister pulled out of a visit for the same reason in October, when invited to attend a Jewish National Fund bash. Apparently arrest is possible when Israeli politicians are not on government business because they can't claim diplomatic immunity.
On charges like these, no-one should enjoy immunity of any kind. If they have nothing to hide, then they should have nothing to fear in answering their accusers in court.
As for the supine F.O?. Well, the initials are well chosen.
Fivish, you are an idiot, and a self serving one at that. It is this bitch who's the war criminal. Look at the map, Israel has stolen nine tenths of what was land occupied by Paestinians, leaving them two small slivers, which your rabid fascist settlers are intent on stealing also. What do you expect when you steal people's land and livelihood on the basis of some fantasy god-given right to it? Expect them to queue up to be slaughtered like the Jews did with the Nazis? They fight back. Israel is the major cause of Islamic extremism which we all have to suffer. Israel behaves like a fascist state, so people conclude it is a fascist state. War criminals should have no refuge, she was in charge of the butchering of civilians including hundreds of children, all of whom you say are guilty just because they live in Gaza! You people really are extraordinary, self-deceiving, victim-obsessed nazis, little understanding you have exchanged your victimhood for abusers. And you just won't listen to anyone, but counter all criticism as anti-semitic, even if it's Jews criticising you. Try thinking without hate for a change. The disparity of deaths between Gaza, attacked from the air with US provided weapons, and swamped with troops who went on a state-sponsored and encouraged killing spree, and the very few casualties of the pathetic home-made Hamas self defence rockets is laughable when you claim to be the victims of war crimes.
Just tell me this Fivish Fivish... What makes you think the children of Gaza are guilty? And what makes you think they deserve white phosphorous dropping on them?
Instead of embarrassment, the British Government should be proud to hold up the standards of Truth and Justice - it's a small, but long overdue start. Good people all over should encourage the British to arrest all Israelis who are responsible for the Gaza tragedy, which continues today. They should also arrest Tony Blair, George Bush, etc. for the crimes they committed in Iraq. The Italian court did good to bring the US CIA operatives to justice. Again, it's a good start. Now, let's keep it going.
Oo-err, what a schmozzle, eh? Lipni nearly arrested for the war-crimes she committed?! And by her co-religionist, Britain's Foreign Minister, David Minibrain, too! Oy vay! Thank goodness jews get a raincheck on human rights abuses, eh?
An eye for an eye, ehh? There are plenty of Jews around who do not condone Israels actions. Criticism of Israel is not anti-semitic in itself, don't hide behind that. In fact your post is so childish I have to wonder if you are what you pretend to be, or are you just stoking it up?
Unfortunately there is a growing climate of hatred against Israel propagated by the growing number of Islamists, anti-semites and loony leftists in this country. These groups aren't interested in Iran, Hizbollah and Hamas's objective to destroy Israel, and their actions only give encouragement to these groups that promote hatred and terror. Most dangerously they also seem to have gained the sympathy of certain elements in Government and the media. Frightening!
There we go again, no one can say a word about the "chosen ones" and it immediately becomes "anti-semitism". Fivish Fivish I suspect would like to see the population of Gaza eliminated; it is also called genocide. Hamas are the democratically elected leaders of Gaza and I have only heard them ask to be released from their huge concentration camp called Gaza, where there basic human rights are trammled into the dirt by the USA financed Israeli military. They have only asked that Israel be forced to adhere to UN resolutions, like 242, and to withdraw from occupied Palestinian land, nothing wrong in asking Israel to obey International law. The time has come that a permanent secretariat should be established to track down Israeli war criminals and bring them to justice at the International court of Justice. There must be thousands of Israeli politician's and military walking free; whilst dead of Lebanon and Palestine cry out for justice.
I rather think it is Israel with its vast nuclear arsenal that is the cause of most of the problems in the middle east; when are inspectors going to visit their nuclear establishments?
You may be quite certain no action would be taken against Islamic fanatics or leading unelected figures in gangster regimes should they pop in. Indeed several have and one or two are feted by government.
This is simply terrible and depressing.
Embarassment why? This woman and the entire Israeli warcabinet for that matter, should be locked up with Mugabe and Sudan''s dictator for crimes against humanity. The Fivish comment is typical for jewish desperate propaganda. Hamas is fighting for the return of their territory, illegally occupied by Israel. To say that that is genocide is ludicrous. Israel acted no different from Hitler occupying W-Europe's low-lands, claiming that their soil belonged to the Germans, as it was washed down from their mountains, by their rivers. Jewish arguments are hypocracy of the worst kind! BV
This is nothing to do with anti-semitism, although it suits the Israeli state to portray it as such. Almost without a doubt the Israeli state committed war crimes and those responsible should be brought to justice. That alone might bring the world to its senses and stop British and American politicians turning a blind eye to the actions of this pariah state.
Its a disgrace that anyone would suggest that the victim of a war crime should be tried for defending themselves!
The goal of Hamas is the genocide and policide of the Jews in Israel. That is a crime against humanity for which the entire population of Gaza is guilty. But we dont see the human rights organisation calling for the arrest of the Hamas leaders. Its hypocracy of the worst kind - fueled by anti-semitism.