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A British Court issued an arrest warrant for former Israeli Foreign Minister and leader of the opposition Kadima Party,Tzipi Livni, for her alleged role during the Gaza War. Livni was scheduled to visit London but canceled her visit in advance due to scheduling concerns. The judge, unaware of the cancellation, issued the warrant only to recant later when it was discovered that she was not in the country.

This is not the first time that the United Kingdom has issued an arrest warrant against a former Israeli politician for their involvement in the Gaza War. Ehud Barak, Israel’s defense minister and leader of the Labour Party, was also targeted by lawyers but escaped because the Foreign Office declared that he was a serving minister who was meeting his counterparts and thus enjoyed immunity. The warrants have been issued on the behest Palestinians who have claimed to be victims of the Gaza War under the 1998 Criminal Justice Act, giving courts in England and Wales ‘universal jurisdiction’ over any case related to war crimes.

The larger issue brought to light here is the debate over universal jurisdiction. Can a judicial system in one country prosecute leader or former leader of another country for crimes not committed in its state or against its people? International law says Yes. Yet could this not be exploited for self advancement or sympathy to a particular cause. How can a judge in England conduct a fair trial for something that happened thousands of miles away? These are difficult questions but one thing is clear: Israel-UK relations took a serious hit.