| Israeli Deputy PM cancels Britain trip for fear of arrest |
| by: Maud Swinnen | Updated: 02/Nov/2010 07:10 |
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LONDON (EJP)---An Israeli minister has canceled a scheduled to trip to Britain for fear that he would be arrested or face other legal difficulties upon arrival under universal jurisdiction legislation, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, who is also Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister, was due to speak at a fundraising dinner for BICOM, a pro-Israeli group in London. He was a replacement for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who cancelled last week his trip due to the delicate state of the peace negotiations. Netanyahu is to travel to the United States at the end of this week.
According to press reports, it is believed the Israeli justice and foreign ministries notified Meridor that he may face charges connected to his alleged role in the raid on the Gaza-bound ship Mavi Marmara on May 31, in which Israeli naval commandos killed nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists. (Remember, if they hadn't
This is not the first case of Israeli politicians facing legal charges in Britain. In 2009, a British court issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Tzipi Livni over war crimes allegedly committed in Gaza while she served as foreign minister. Livni canceled her trip to London as a result of information of the warrant issued against her.
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.
Discussions over changes to the universal jurisdiction legislation have continued since the new British government under David Cameron came to power in May.
Justice Minister Ken Clarke has announced that the coalition would table a legislative amendment which would ensure the Director of Public Prosecutions would need to give consent for an arrest warrant to be issued in response to a private prosecution for war crimes.
The government has repeatedly said it would act as soon as parliamentary time allows to implement the changes, but predicted it may take until the end of November or December.
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