Israel has protested to Britain over the threat of arrest for alleged war crimes faced by its visiting high-profile figures after fresh controversy over a trip by military officers, a deputy minister said. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, who has himself been threatened with arrest in Britain, said on the Internet site Twitter that he had protested to Britain's attorney general at the “impossible situation regarding claims against senior Israeli officials in the UK.” Ayalon made his complaint to Patricia Scotland, the British government's chief legal adviser, Tuesday when she visited Jerusalem, an aide said Wednesday. At the request of private petitioners, courts in England and Wales have the power to issue arrest warrants under the 1988 Criminal Justice Act for suspected war crimes committed anywhere in the world. Last month, Israel demanded Britain change that law after reports that ex-foreign minister Tzipi Livni would have risked arrest on war crimes charges over last year's Gaza offensive, had she not cancelled a visit to London. An Israeli military delegation, invited by the British army, called off the visit because Britain could not provide guarantees the officers would not face the threat of arrest, Israeli officials said. “We have noted the ratcheting up of actions against Israeli officials and we registered a protest because (pro-Palestinian groups) feel they can abuse the British legal system for their own political gain,” Ayalon's aide said.
