UK Govt under heavy pressure from pro-Israel lobby over war crimes legislation

Thursday, 04 February 2010 16:51

The Jewish Chronicle reports that Tzipi Livni is planning to visit the UK within months to test the government’s resolve in changing the law on universal jurisdiction.

The government has come under heavy lobbying pressure from Israel and Anglo-Jewish groups to amend the law, which allows for those accused of war crimes to be arrested on British soil at the instruction of magistrates who rule that a prima facie case exists. Anglo-Jewish groups are pushing for a change to the law that will effectively exempt Israeli officials who don’t enjoy diplomatic immunity from possible arrest and prosecution for alleged war crimes.

Tzipi Livni told the JC:

“I will do this not for me, not for provocation, but for the right of every Israeli to travel freely. I am not going to be restricted by extremists because I fought terror.”

She said the law was “being abused by extremists for political reasons. Belgium and Spain have changed their laws, and the British know that they have to do so”.

“My intention is not to stay in Israel for ever. I don’t think as a decision-maker, who made decisions against terror, that I should plan never to leave Israel. The British fight terror, too. They do not remain in Britain. They travel.”

Perhaps Ms Livni might have considered that her decisions during the Gaza assault, in which 1,400 Palestinians were killed, would bear heavy consequences?

Breaking the Silence, Amnesty International and the Goldstone Report, produced by the UN Fact Finding Mission on Gaza, have all extensively documented the war crimes committed by Israel and Hamas during the bombardment of the Gaza Strip last winter. Israel’s response to calls for investigations into the breaches of international humanitarian law were yesterday described by Amnesty as ‘totally inadequate’.

The JC notes that backbench opposition to the law on universal jurisdiction is growing and that an Early Day Motion submitted by Jeremy Corbyn MP opposing an amendment to the law has attracted 110 signatures. Is your MP amongst them?

Pressure has been mounting to push through a change before the deadline for this parliamentary term ends.

If you have not yet done so, it is imperative that you contact your MP and urge that s/he put her/his name to the early day motion insisting on NO CHANGE to the law. Details on how to contact your MP via email here. Or you can call the House of Commons switchboard on 020 7219 3000 and ask to be put through to your MP’s office.

You can also join Amnesty International’s campaign and submit a letter to the PM online, more details here.

The law on universal jurisdiction was devised to ensure that those accused of war crimes would be held to account and that justice would be done to their victims. Add your voice to the campaign and join those who are lobbying against a change to the law on universal jurisdiction. Say NO to a change that would allow war criminals to brazenly enter the UK without fear of being held to account for their crimes.

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