BICOM

British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould announced yesterday that Royal Assent has been given to a bill which will prevent the issuing of further arrest warrants on Israeli officials traveling to the United Kingdom. The misuse of universal jurisdiction provisions by pro-Palestinian activists and their supporters has been a major issue negatively effecting relations between London and Jerusalem in recent years. The bill, which has now become law, will require that the Director of Public Prosecutions in the UK will be required to consent to the issuing of an arrest warrant for individuals suspected of crimes under universal jurisdiction. This will put an end to the issuing of warrants where there is no realistic chance of prosecution.

Lawyers working with pro-Palestinian campaigners in recent years sought the arrest of senior Israeli politicians and military figures under terms of universal jurisdiction. This legal concept empowered judges to issue arrest warrants for visiting officials accused of war crimes, under the principle of universal jurisdiction that holds that some alleged crimes are so severe that they can be tried anywhere – irrespective of where the crime is committed.

After a warrant was issued against Tzipi Livni in 2009, the then-foreign secretary David Miliband announced that Britain would no longer tolerate the legal harassment of Israeli officials in that fashion, and the lengthy process to amend the law begun.