AN Israeli cabinet minister has called off a visit to Britain because of concerns he could be arrested on suspicion of committing war crimes, becoming the latest Israeli official affected by a Palestinian legal campaign in the United Kingdom.
The decision by Moshe Yaalon, a former military chief of staff who is now a vice prime minister, came a week after Palestinian activists tried unsuccessfully to have Israel's defence minister arrested during a visit to Britain.
"This is a campaign to delegitimise Israel," Yaalon said in a statement.
Yaalon called off his trip "to avoid playing into the hands of anti-Israel propaganda," spokesman Alon Ofek-Arnon said.
Several Israeli officials have been threatened with legal action in Britain under the legal principle of "universal jurisdiction," which says that some crimes are so heinous that they can be prosecuted locally, even if they are alleged to have been committed elsewhere.
Palestinian organisations have used the principle to pursue Israeli officers who have taken part in operations against Palestinian militants in which civilians have been killed. The campaign has failed to have Israeli officials arrested so far but is marring Israel's ties with Britain, an ally.
Israel dismisses any allegations that its forces have acted improperly. But it has been worried enough about the legal efforts to have Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raise the issue with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at an August meeting.
The most recent official to be affected was Defence Minister Ehud Barak. Palestinian activists tried to have an arrest warrant issued for Barak during a visit to Britain last week, but were unsuccessful.
Yaalon was invited to an upcoming fundraiser for a Jewish charity and consulted legal advisers, who warned that he faced possible charges over his involvement in the 2002 assassination of a Hamas militant leader that killed 14 other people, including nine children. That led to his decision to cancel the visit, his spokesman said.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Sunday urged Israel to resume peace talks with the Palestinians where they broke off more than a year ago, warning that the peace process "can't take another failure."
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations tapered off last year and haven't resumed since last winter's war in Gaza and the election of Netanyahu as Israeli prime minister. Since then, the two sides have yet to establish a framework to renew talks. The Palestinians want to pick up where negotiations left off, while the hawkish Netanyahu says he is not bound by any concessions his more dovish predecessor made.
But in an interview published on Sunday, Mubarak called on Israel to respond positively to the renewed push for peace and resume talks where they left off.
"It is unreasonable and unacceptable to start from zero," Mubarak told the Armed Forces newspaper. "I told (Israel) that ... settlements are eating away Palestinian land and must stop immediately."
Mubarak's comments were part of a wide ranging interview published days ahead of the 36th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war that opened the way for the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty six years later.
U.S. President Barack Obama has spearheaded renewed efforts to bring the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table, but key sticking points remain.
The Palestinians say talks should resume where they left off, and want a complete freeze of Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank.
Israel has agreed to slow settlement building, but has rejected a total halt to construction.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday faced growing outrage at home over his decision to withdraw support for a UN report that alleged Israel and Hamas committed war crimes in last winter's Gaza war.
Abbas' reversal came as a result of intense U.S. pressure, Palestinian officials said. The report by respected justice Richard Goldstone will now lie dormant for at least six months rather than be sent to the UN General Assembly with possible recommendations for action.
Israel, which vehemently denies the war crimes allegations, has warned that dealing with the Goldstone report now would derail peace efforts. The Obama administration is pushing hard to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and a senior U.S. envoy is returning to the region in coming days to try to narrow gaps over the terms of such talks.
Israel launched the three-week war to quash militant rocket barrages from Gaza that had terrorized residents of southern Israel for years. The UN report accused Israel of using disproportionate force and targeting civilian areas. It faulted Hamas for firing rockets indiscriminately at Israeli towns and using civilians as human shields. Both sides have denied committing war crimes.
The decision by Moshe Yaalon, a former military chief of staff who is now a vice prime minister, came a week after Palestinian activists tried unsuccessfully to have Israel's defence minister arrested during a visit to Britain.
"This is a campaign to delegitimise Israel," Yaalon said in a statement.
Yaalon called off his trip "to avoid playing into the hands of anti-Israel propaganda," spokesman Alon Ofek-Arnon said.
Several Israeli officials have been threatened with legal action in Britain under the legal principle of "universal jurisdiction," which says that some crimes are so heinous that they can be prosecuted locally, even if they are alleged to have been committed elsewhere.
Palestinian organisations have used the principle to pursue Israeli officers who have taken part in operations against Palestinian militants in which civilians have been killed. The campaign has failed to have Israeli officials arrested so far but is marring Israel's ties with Britain, an ally.
Israel dismisses any allegations that its forces have acted improperly. But it has been worried enough about the legal efforts to have Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raise the issue with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at an August meeting.
The most recent official to be affected was Defence Minister Ehud Barak. Palestinian activists tried to have an arrest warrant issued for Barak during a visit to Britain last week, but were unsuccessful.
Yaalon was invited to an upcoming fundraiser for a Jewish charity and consulted legal advisers, who warned that he faced possible charges over his involvement in the 2002 assassination of a Hamas militant leader that killed 14 other people, including nine children. That led to his decision to cancel the visit, his spokesman said.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Sunday urged Israel to resume peace talks with the Palestinians where they broke off more than a year ago, warning that the peace process "can't take another failure."
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations tapered off last year and haven't resumed since last winter's war in Gaza and the election of Netanyahu as Israeli prime minister. Since then, the two sides have yet to establish a framework to renew talks. The Palestinians want to pick up where negotiations left off, while the hawkish Netanyahu says he is not bound by any concessions his more dovish predecessor made.
But in an interview published on Sunday, Mubarak called on Israel to respond positively to the renewed push for peace and resume talks where they left off.
"It is unreasonable and unacceptable to start from zero," Mubarak told the Armed Forces newspaper. "I told (Israel) that ... settlements are eating away Palestinian land and must stop immediately."
Mubarak's comments were part of a wide ranging interview published days ahead of the 36th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war that opened the way for the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty six years later.
U.S. President Barack Obama has spearheaded renewed efforts to bring the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table, but key sticking points remain.
The Palestinians say talks should resume where they left off, and want a complete freeze of Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank.
Israel has agreed to slow settlement building, but has rejected a total halt to construction.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday faced growing outrage at home over his decision to withdraw support for a UN report that alleged Israel and Hamas committed war crimes in last winter's Gaza war.
Abbas' reversal came as a result of intense U.S. pressure, Palestinian officials said. The report by respected justice Richard Goldstone will now lie dormant for at least six months rather than be sent to the UN General Assembly with possible recommendations for action.
Israel, which vehemently denies the war crimes allegations, has warned that dealing with the Goldstone report now would derail peace efforts. The Obama administration is pushing hard to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and a senior U.S. envoy is returning to the region in coming days to try to narrow gaps over the terms of such talks.
Israel launched the three-week war to quash militant rocket barrages from Gaza that had terrorized residents of southern Israel for years. The UN report accused Israel of using disproportionate force and targeting civilian areas. It faulted Hamas for firing rockets indiscriminately at Israeli towns and using civilians as human shields. Both sides have denied committing war crimes.
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