Israel Matzav

British government still hasn't changed universal jurisdiction law

Six weeks after a British court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni, without the British government's knowledge, Britain's universal jurisdiction law, under which Livni or any other Israeli army officer or government official could be arrested on the say-so of a pro-'Palestinian' lawyer, has still not been changed.

Legislation to prevent magistrates issuing arrest warrants for high-profile foreign visitors accused of war crimes has been delayed because it is still awaiting a decision from Gordon Brown.

One senior government source close to the process told the JC this week: “There is no evidence that the Prime Minister is having second thoughts, but he needs to press the button.”

At the same time, Downing Street sources said that Number 10 was furious that the Justice Secretary Jack Straw is still dragging his feet over the issue.

Mr Straw is known to be highly sensitive to the views of his Muslim constituents in Blackburn and is close to the Muslim Council of Britain, which opposes a change to the law.

Shadow Middle East minster David Lidington said there was no excuse for the delay:"It is absolutely crazy that they seem to be incapable of acting. This has to be sorted and quickly. Subject to seeing the details we will help the government get this through.

"It is very clear to me that this issue is doing serious damage to relations with Israel. This needs to be resolved. If we hope to play a part in the Middle East peace process senior Israelis need to know they can travel freely in the UK."

Look at the bright side: It totally removes from the British government the ability to pressure Israel. And it keeps Israel politicians from spending a fortune in London on our government's tab.

Maybe it's not such a bad idea after all.

/Just joking - we can't have IDF soldiers unable to travel.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:05 AM