Great Britain To Address Lawfare Against Visiting Israeli Officials

The context of the promise is odd, but Great Britain has agreed to see it it that visiting Israeli officials will be protected from international arrest warrants

William Hague finds face-saving compromise with Israel

William Hague on Thursday struck a face-saving compromise with Israel that salvaged a key strategic meeting and partially defused a growing diplomatic spat.

Israel reversed its decision to suspend the meeting after Mr Hague promised to introduce measures protecting visiting Israeli officials from arrest "within weeks". The venue for the meeting was also switched from London to Israel.

Israel announced the unilateral suspension of the UK-Israel Strategic Dialogue, which is meant to symbolise its close relationship with Britain, in a move that appeared calculated to embarrass Mr Hague on his first visit to the country as Foreign Secretary.

The move was described as a protest at a British legal loophole that allows pro-Palestinian activists to bring private prosecutions against visiting Israeli dignitaries – even though all officials attending the Dialogue would have received automatic diplomatic immunity.
The timing of the announcement – made in a leak to the Israeli press – dismayed British officials, not least because Mr Hague had come to Israel with a specific commitment to implement changes to the law.

The Israeli suspension seems odd, not only because the British already had promised to address the legal issue in advance anyway--but also because I would have thought that Israel had a better reason to protest against Great Britain in general, and Hague in particular.

Just last Wednesday, Great Britain and Mr Hague made news over their recognition of Palestine:

British Foreign Secretary William Hague signed a “treaty between nations” with Palestinian Authority leaders on Wednesday. “This agreement is the first ever bilateral treaty between the two nations,” the British Consulate-General site proclaimed.

The treaty covers cooperation in the film industry. Hague signed a similar agreement with Israel.

Aside from its reference to the “treaty between nations,” the UK Consulate site also referred to Hague's trip to visit PA leaders in Ramallah as “his first visit to Palestine,” apparently recognizing a new country of “Palestine” before even PA leaders have declared one to exist.

Perhaps that was the reason for Israel's threat to suspend the talks, but at the same time did not want to make a scene.

In any case, Israel made its point and--if Great Britain and Hague are true to their word--the abuse of international law to harass Israeli officials in the UK will be over.

Technorati Tag: William Hague and Lawfare.