UK visit cancelled by Israeli military over arrest threats

The UK government is now under pressure to take back its threat to bring legal action against leaders in Israel for any war crimes they have committed in Gaza if they enter the country. A British arrest warrant was issued for Tzipi Livni accused of committing war crimes has now been withdrawn as it was later revealed she was not in the country. The issue of the arrest warrant has led to other Israeli leaders cancelling proposed trips to the UK as well as army officers in fear of being arrested.

A team of officers from the Israeli military were due to visit the UK this month but they have since pulled out citing the fear of being arrested on charges on war crimes when they arrive. This has happened in the UK before and this is just the latest case of Israeli’s pulling out of proposed trips in order to avoid punishment for previous crimes. Many Israeli leaders have expressed their frustration at the British law and are pressing the government to change its laws.

Before cancelling their trip earlier this week, the Israeli military asked the UK government to guarantee that they would not be arrested if they arrived in the country but the government declined and refused to make this commitment. Many are saying that the friction between the countries is growing as the UK continues to stand strong in its beliefs and punish people for crimes they have committed; irrelevant to their stature.