British arrest warrant for Tzipi Livni, former Israeli Foreign Minister
Just as she was preparing to come speak to a conference in London, Israel's former Foreign Minister found out there was a chance she could be picked up by the cops. A British magistrate issued a warrant for her arrest, likely for war crimes alleged to have been committed during the Gaza war. Needless to say, Israel's government was not pleased:
The British government, which did not call for or support the warrant, has been busy trying to patch up relations with the Israelis.
We're familiar with war crimes indictments for some of the world's most reviled regimes: Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan for example is unable to travel to several dozen countries because of an outstanding warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in the Hague. But it gets a little more sticky when an accusation of war crimes falls on an ally. This was arguably one of the sticking factors to the United States joining the ICC treaty: a hesitation to open top officials to prosecution. People often point to the "Kissinger Question": Henry Kissinger served as the US Secretary of State, but he's also reviled in many countries around the world as a war criminal.
What do you think? Are war crimes prosecutions inherently or overly political? Is that what's happening in the UK?
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The Israeli ministry said in a statement: “If the leaders of Israel will not be able to visit Britain in a respectable and appropriate manner, it would naturally be a real obstacle to Britain’s willingness to play an active role in the Middle East peace process.”
The British government, which did not call for or support the warrant, has been busy trying to patch up relations with the Israelis.
We're familiar with war crimes indictments for some of the world's most reviled regimes: Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan for example is unable to travel to several dozen countries because of an outstanding warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in the Hague. But it gets a little more sticky when an accusation of war crimes falls on an ally. This was arguably one of the sticking factors to the United States joining the ICC treaty: a hesitation to open top officials to prosecution. People often point to the "Kissinger Question": Henry Kissinger served as the US Secretary of State, but he's also reviled in many countries around the world as a war criminal.
What do you think? Are war crimes prosecutions inherently or overly political? Is that what's happening in the UK?
Recently on the Current News Blog:
- Global Citizen Year
- Silvio Berlusconi gets hit in the face - What's next for No B Day?
- Copenhagen: Walkouts continue
- Iran to try three hikers for espionage
- Top 10 stories of 2009: Obama, Afghanistan, Pirates, and more (Video)
