[Ha'aretz] Barak Ravid - Relations between Israel and Britain remained strained over British insistence on labeling products manufactured in West Bank settlements. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has spoken to British Foreign Secretary David Miliband to try to persuade him to cancel the plan, by equating it to the initiative by UK academics to ban their Israeli counterparts. A few days ago Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor told Miliband that the initiative was an attempt to influence Israeli policy toward the settlements, and that any other explanation was an excuse. Meanwhile, British ambassador Tom Phillips was summoned by the Israel Foreign Ministry on Thursday to discuss concerns that former Israel Defense Forces officers will be arrested in the UK for war crimes. Israeli officials told Phillips that they were disappointed that the British government has not changed the law to prevent UK courts from trying Israeli officials. Former IDF generals including Minister of Transportation and former IDF Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz have chosen not to travel to the UK out of fear they will be arrested by local authorities.
2008-11-14 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive