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Two Israeli regime officials have fled Britain over the past week over
fears that they could face arrest over war crimes charges linked with
the regime's atrocities in the Palestinian territories including Gaza.


Retired Israeli Major General Danny Rothschild who coordinated the
regime's military operations in the 1990's had to leave his London
visit unfinished after a warning from Israeli embassy that said he
could face arrest if he did not leave the country immediately, Haaretz
reported.

Last year, Britain pledged to “urgently” reform the Universal
jurisdiction regulations, which allow prosecution of war criminals
within British borders, to ensure Israeli officials visit the country
freely even when they are accused of serious violations of human
rights.

Under the universal jurisdiction regulations, British judges could
issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials visiting the UK without
seeking approval from the state prosecutor.

This comes as Knesset member and former Israeli Labor leader Amir
Peretz also ran away from Britain over similar concerns just a day
earlier than Rothschild.

Activists have at least once managed to secure an arrest warrant for
Israeli officials. That was when activists got an arrest warrant for
former Israeli Opposition leader Tzipi Livni back in 2009 ahead of her
visit to Britain, effectively preventing her from entering the
country.

Rothschild was scheduled to address MPs and later speak at a think-
thank on Tuesday but he rushed out of Britain after receiving the
Israeli embassy warning taking the Eurostar to France before flying to
the occupied territories to evade Heathrow passport checks.

The British government moved to appease Tel Aviv back in December 2010
with a reforms bill that would shift the jurisdiction to the director
of public prosecution.

But Israeli officials are likely to face more urgent escapes before
the bill passes through the parliament.

The British ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould has claimed that the
bill is meant to prevent “the law from being misused for political
reasons” where “there is no realistic chance of prosecution”.

“We remain committed to upholding international justice, and continue
to believe that those guilty of war crimes must be brought to justice.
The change in the law will not affect our ability to do so," Gould
added.

He did not specify whether the killing of more than 1,400 Palestinian
people - most of them civilians - by the Israeli regime's forces
during Cast Lead Operation is considered a war crime.

Nor did he refer to the report by the United Nation's Fact Finding
Mission on the Gaza Conflict that found the Israeli regime used
“disproportionate force” against Palestinian civilians during the
operation and slammed the regime for war crimes over the use of
illegal white phosphorous bombs among others.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/arrest-warning-prompts-retired-israeli-general-to-cut-short-london-visit-1.371814