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A British court reportedly issued an arrest warrant for Israel’s former foreign minister on charges relating to Israel’s 22-day war on Gaza, before apparently withdrawing it after it was found she was not in the country.
Tzipi Livni, the leader of the opposition Kadima party, had been expected to travel to London this week for an event organised by the Jewish National Fund, followed by meetings with British government officials.
Livni cancelled the visit two weeks before the event was due to take place.
Israeli media reported on Monday that Livni had called off the trip fearing that she would be arrested after a pro-Palestinian group won a warrant for her arrest.
The British foreign office issued a statement on Monday saying it was looking into the incident and its possible effect on the peace process.
“The UK is determined to do all it can to promote peace in the Middle East and to be a strategic partner of Israel,” it said.
“To do this, Israel’s leaders need to be able to come to the UK for talks with the British government. We are looking urgently at the implications of this case.”
Israeli land, air and naval forces began bombarding the Gaza Strip last December saying that it wanted to stop rocket attacks by Palestinian fighters.
More 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the offensive, while 13 Israelis, including 10 soldiers, died over the same time period.
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