Opposition leader Tzipi Livni (Kadima) is scheduled to visit London soon, marking her first visit since December 2009, when a British judge issued a warrant for her arrest for her role as foreign minister during Operation Cast Lead in 2008. Operation Cast Lead began when Israel Defense Forces troops crossed the Gaza border in 2008 to stop rocket attacks on Israel. During the three-week offensive, 13 Israelis and more than 1,000 Palestinians died. After the operation, pro-Palestinian organizations in Britain filed lawsuits against Israeli politicians and military leaders for what they claimed were war crimes. At the time, the British legal system permitted any British judge to issue an arrest warrant for a visiting official accused of war crimes, in accordance with the Universal Jurisdiction loophole in British law. The first legal issue of this kind arose in 2005 when a group of local pro-Palestinian lawyers attempted to detain Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, who had been planning to visit several Jewish communities in the U.K. The lawyers filed a complaint accusing Almog of war crimes following his directive as Southern Command head in 2002 to demolish 50 Palestinian houses in Gaza. Almog, tipped off that British police officers were waiting to arrest him the minute he stepped off the aircraft, remained on board and left the country on the same plane. After more than two years of promises from the U.K. that it would change the law and once again allow Israeli officials entry into the country without fear of being arrested for war crimes, Queen Elizabeth approved an amendment to the British law on Sept. 15. The amendment prevents arrest warrants from being issued against visiting Israeli officials without the approval of the attorney-general. After the U.K. made the announcement that the law had been amended, British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould called Livni to invite her back to Britain. Several days ago, British Foreign Secretary William Hague also called Livni and updated her on the cancellation of the warrant against her. I'm glad the arrest warrant issued against me opened the eyes of the British and put an end to the cynical exploitation of the British legal system to target Israel Defense Forces commanders and soldiers, Livni said after hearing that the amendment had been passed.
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