Scotland Yard summons Livni for Cast Lead war crimes questioning

Britain's Scotland Yard recently summoned former foreign minister and current top Zionist Union MK Tzipi Livni for questioning over alleged war crimes committed by Israel during Operation Cast Lead in 2008-9, the Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Coming only days after Israel signed a deal with Turkey to put behind it war crimes cases relating to the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla, the incident was a reminder that Israel's problems in facing war crimes charges in foreign countries are multifaceted and far from over.

Livni received the summons on Thursday during a trip to Britain, but the incident was kept quiet until Sunday.

In the meantime, the Foreign Ministry and other government agencies worked furiously to avoid the summons, with the eventual resolution being that it was arranged for Livni to have a state meeting with a British diplomat.

By adding this meeting into her schedule, her visit fell under the definition of a "state visit" which gives her immunity from attending the questioning.

The summons was a first and for that reason, caught Livni and the government by surprise.

On the other hand, in the past, Livni herself and many other Israeli officials, have faced the threat of arrest in Britain for war crimes, and the police summons was less serious than those situations.

Source ; MENA