Israel has slammed an arrest warrant issued by a London court against former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, seen here in Washington in January, warning that Britain would not be able to play a major role in the peace process unless it took steps to curb such warrants.

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel on Tuesday slammed an arrest warrant issued by a London court against former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, warning that Britain would not be able to play a major role in the peace process unless it took steps to curb such moves.

"Israel rejects the cynical legal move made in the British court against the head of the opposition, Tzipi Livni, at the behest of radical elements," the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement.

It was referring to an arrest warrant that was understood to have been issued by a London court at the weekend against Livni over her role in Israel's war against Hamas-run Gaza at the turn of the year.

"Israel calls on the British government to fulfil its promises, once and for all, to act in preventing the exploitation of the British legal system by anti-Israel elements," the statement said.

"The absence of immediate, determined action to correct this abuse harms relations between Britain and Israel," it warned.

"If Israeli leaders cannot visit Britain in proper, dignified fashion, this will, quite naturally, seriously compromise Britain's ability to play the active role in the Middle East peace process that it desires."

Media reports said the warrant caused Livni to cancel a trip to Britain, although her office said the trip was cancelled because of scheduling problems.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office told AFP on Monday that it was urgently assessing the implications of the warrant.

"The UK is determined to do all it can to promote peace in the Middle East, and to be a strategic partner of Israel," she said.

"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."

It marked the latest incident in which British courts have issued, or have been asked to issue, arrest warrants for Israeli officials.

In September, pro-Palestinian activists sought to have Defence Minister Ehud Barak arrested over his role in the Gaza war, but a court denied the request on the grounds of diplomatic immunity.

In 2005, a retired Israeli general, Doron Almog, avoided arrest in Britain by returning to Israel without leaving the plane that had landed him in London after he learned an arrest warrant had been issued against him.



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Row: Tzipi Livni arrives at 10 Downing Street on a previous trip to London in 2008

Britain and Israel are in a stand-off today after the UK was accused of issuing an arrest warrant for former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

The Foreign Office said it was looking into the case urgently as Israel demanded Britain change the law to stop allowing pro-Palestinian activists to exploit the UK's legal system against Israeli citizens.

Reports in the Arab media claimed yesterday that Livni had been forced to call off a trip to London because of the legal concerns. At first Livni's office refused to confirm the reports, insisting the trip had been cancelled for unrelated reasons.

But today the Foreign Ministry said a warrant had been issued. 'Israel urges the British government to once and for all honour its promises to take action to prevent anti-Israel forces from exploiting the British legal system to act against Israel and its citizens,' the ministry said.

'The absence of resolute and immediate action to redress this distortion harms relations between the two countries. The ministry said the warrant was later cancelled after officials learned Livni was not on British soil. Livni did not directly address the warrant in a speech at a security conference today, but said, 'I have no problem with the fact that the world wants to judge Israel. The problem is the minute they equate terrorists and Israeli soldiers.'

The British Foreign Office said it was determined to do its best to be a strategic partner of Israel. 'To do this, Israel's leaders need to be able to come to the U.K. for talks with the British Government,' it said. Livni, a onetime lead negotiator with the Palestinians, enjoys a dovish reputation in much of the West. But as foreign minister, she staunchly defended Israel's devastating military offensive in Gaza early this year.

Her support for that operation, meant to end years of rocket fire by Gaza militants against Israel, has remained strong, despite widespread international criticism of the hundreds of civilian casualties.

Livni stepped down after February parliamentary elections and is now Israel's opposition leader. The incident was the latest in a string of attempts by pro-Palestinian activists to have Israeli officials arrested.

Pro-Palestinian lawyers attempted earlier this year to invoke the 'universal jurisdiction' law to arrest Gaza war mastermind Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister, but his status as a Cabinet minister gave him diplomatic immunity.

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. The warrant against Almog - who oversaw the bombing of a Gaza home in which 14 people were killed - was later cancelled.

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