(Communicated by the MFA Spokesperson)
Israel rejects the cynical legal move made in the British court against the Head of the Opposition, MK Tzipi Livni, at the behest of radical elements, and wishes to point out that Israel and Britain are both engaged in a common struggle against the forces of international terror. In many parts of the world, British soldiers are fighting to eradicate terrorism.
Israel calls on the British government to fulfill its promises, once and for all, to act in preventing the exploitation of the British legal system by anti-Israel elements against the State of Israel and its citizens.
The absence of immediate, determined action to correct this abuse harms relations between Britain and Israel.
If Israeli leaders cannot visit Britain in proper, dignified fashion, this will, quite naturally, seriously compromise Britain’s ability to play the active role in the Middle East peace process that it desires.
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Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon on IBA English news (15 Dec 2009):
"We were of course shocked in dismay to find out that there was an arrest order for Tzipi Livni, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, MK, head of the opposition. It just shows the ridiculous situation where we find ourselves where there is an abuse of the legal system against democracies who defend themselves from terrorism. There is a major loophole, I understand, in the British judicial system, and we were promised that the British would close that loophole."