Israel was condemned for using white phosphorus during an attack in which the UN complex in the Gaza Strip was hit Photo: Getty
When it comes to diplomacy, it is hard to imagine a more difficult or frustrating partner than the state of Israel. The world pleads with its government to refrain from building further settlements, and how does it respond? By drawing up plans for 900 new homes in the heart of East Jerusalem, a scheme guaranteed to enrage Arab opinion at a time when the West is desperately attempting to revive peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
The same goes for the traditionally robust response of the Israeli military whenever the country's citizens find themselves under attack, whether from suicide bombers or Islamic militants beyond its borders. Western pleas for restraint and a "proportionate" response are invariably ignored, as Israel's overwhelming military superiority is brought to bear against its foes, often with catastrophic consequences. Who can forget the carnage in the Lebanese village of Qana in the spring of 1996, after Israeli soldiers mistakenly shelled a community centre, killing 106 of the occupants? Or the onslaught against Hamas militants in Gaza last Christmas? Israel had every right to defend itself when its citizens came under a constant barrage from home-made missiles. But its uncompromising military operation, which included firing white phosphorous shells close to crowded civilian areas, could hardly be hailed as a PR triumph.
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The Israelis take great pride in their defiance in the face of adversity, but their truculent manner can ruffle the diplomatic feathers of even their closest allies. Since taking office, Barack Obama has made the Arab-Israeli dispute one of his top priorities. But he has been frustrated at every turn by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's obdurate prime minister, who has not taken kindly to Washington's hectoring tone.
The Obama administration has responded by giving Israeli officials the cold shoulder, seeking to exclude them from deliberations over other key issues, such as the mounting menace posed by Iran. As one Israeli official remarked to me in Washington this month: "It's o
By Con Coughlin Published: 6:24AM GMT 18 Dec 2009
Comments 41 | Comment on this article
When it comes to diplomacy, it is hard to imagine a more difficult or frustrating partner than the state of Israel. The world pleads with its government to refrain from building further settlements, and how does it respond? By drawing up plans for 900 new homes in the heart of East Jerusalem, a scheme guaranteed to enrage Arab opinion at a time when the West is desperately attempting to revive peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
The same goes for the traditionally robust response of the Israeli military whenever the country's citizens find themselves under attack, whether from suicide bombers or Islamic militants beyond its borders. Western pleas for restraint and a "proportionate" response are invariably ignored, as Israel's overwhelming military superiority is brought to bear against its foes, often with catastrophic consequences. Who can forget the carnage in the Lebanese village of Qana in the spring of 1996, after Israeli soldiers mistakenly shelled a community centre, killing 106 of the occupants? Or the onslaught against Hamas militants in Gaza last Christmas? Israel had every right to defend itself when its citizens came under a constant barrage from home-made missiles. But its uncompromising military operation, which included firing white phosphorous shells close to crowded civilian areas, could hardly be hailed as a PR triumph.
The Israelis take great pride in their defiance in the face of adversity, but their truculent manner can ruffle the diplomatic feathers of even their closest allies. Since taking office, Barack Obama has made the Arab-Israeli dispute one of his top priorities. But he has been frustrated at every turn by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's obdurate prime minister, who has not taken kindly to Washington's hectoring tone.
The Obama administration has responded by giving Israeli officials the cold shoulder, seeking to exclude them from deliberations over other key issues, such as the mounting menace posed by Iran. As one Israeli official remarked to me in Washington this month: "It's open season on Israel for the Obama administration. There's nothing they'd like to do more than embarrass us."
This antagonism appears to have spread across the Atlantic. The Government hardly distinguished itself in its desultory response to this week's attempts by Hamas sympathisers to have Tzipi Livni, Israel's former foreign minister and current opposition leader, arrested for war crimes in London. Indeed, Gordon Brown only offered Mrs Livni an apology after being criticised for not doing so by the media.
As a senior cabinet member at the time of the Gaza offensive, Mrs Livni clearly bears a share of responsibility for any wrongdoing. But Israel is a country that prides itself on the rigorous pursuit of public accountability, and there is no shortage of politicians, human rights groups or lawyers prepared to leap into action if there is the slightest hint that she is in any way guilty. Just look at the humiliation heaped on Ariel Sharon, then the defence minister, for his role in the massacres of Palestinian refugees in Beirut in 1982.
The Israeli judicial system is perfectly capable of bringing offenders to justice, and needs no help from its British counterpart. But thanks to New Labour's unerring instinct for proclaiming its politically correct credentials at every opportunity, our courts are now obliged to observe the International Criminal Court Act of 2001. This enables opportunistic campaigners to persuade magistrates to issue arrest warrants against those suspected of war crimes. Unlike other European states, and despite official assurances, we have done nothing to protect friendly politicians – indeed, a major diplomatic incident was only averted because Mrs Livni had the good sense to cancel her visit.
But however exasperating it is to deal with Israel, those in Whitehall should curb any Schadenfreude over Mrs Livni's discomfort. After all, it was thanks to the efforts of Israeli intelligence that the existence of Iran's top-secret uranium enrichment facility at Natanz was revealed to the world. And were it not for its air strikes against a Syrian reactor in 2007, Damascus would be well on the way to building nuclear weapons.
As Ron Prosor, the Israeli ambassador to London, reminded David Miliband when he lodged a formal complaint at the Foreign Office over Mrs Livni's reprehensible treatment, Israel is an important ally in the fight against terrorism, as well as a key player in the international effort to bring Iran to its senses. For these reasons alone it makes sense for British politicians and officials to have a constructive dialogue with their Israeli counterparts, rather than allowing them to be portrayed as criminals. Can you imagine the outrage in Britain if an Israeli court attempted to detain Jack Straw for his role in supporting the Iraq war?
If this important, and mutually beneficial, alliance is to be maintained, Israeli officials need to be able to travel to Britain with impunity. It is in the Government's interests that it acts quickly to amend the flawed 2001 Act, and ensure that anti-Israel extremists are prevented from taking the law into their own hands.
Comments: 46
"The International Criminal Court Act must be amended to protect friendly politicians". Sheer hypocrisy, I'd say. More than this, a perfect excuse for any wannabe jihadist for doing away with the world order proposed by warmongers.
Well if Israeli leaders are to be charged with war crimes by our courts if they visit our country just for defending themselves, Blair and Brown had better never leave Britain again since they started a war with a country that had never done anything against us in Iraq, if that is,nt a war crime then what is. I put Brown there as well because he was complicite in every decision taken from start to finish, so why are Israel not asking the Haigh to have him arrested whilst he is in Copenhagan.
Israel's situation is hopeless, the Palestinians will never desist, so who can blame them for striking back condignly or for expanding persistently and sinisterly. Con argues that they are a bulwark for the West in the Near East. In fact, of course, Israel's existence is the source of unending conflict. Her usefulness as a source of information is primarily, of course, in her own interest in a conflict for which she is mainly responsible. Imagine the scene in which the American-Irish used force and cunning to colonise the west of Ireland. Imagine that the new nation created was ethnically compact and conscious of its superiority over the despised remnant of the former inhabitants. What a recipe!
@beefbeefbeef Care to show me any verifiable facts relating to your oh so unprovable "public opinion" argument. I have no love or hate of Israel, but people that bleat on about public opinion are just ridiculous. Israel's behaviour over the years has been pretty disgraceful on occasion, but then so has the behaviour of those that have launched attacks against them.
"The International Criminal Court Act must be amended to protect friendly politicians" So, for those innocent victims of white phosphorus: stop complaining - it was just a friendly greeting!
The terrorists who bombed the King David Hotel in British Palestine are still national heros whilst the Israeli government with complete hypocracy demands universal condemnation of Arabs who plant bombs in response to the ongoing theft of their property by the racialist and sectarian regime in Israel. The hypocracy continues in the demand that Iran should be attacked if it dares to acquire nuclear weapons, whilst the statte of Israel has got them in defiance of every UN resolution.
The number of civilians directly killed by Allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan is in the thousands and thus far outstrips the number killed by Israel in Operation Cast Lead. This is not to mention the hundreds of thousands that have died in Iraq in total as a result of the war and its aftermath. But isn't Israel much worse? For whereas Britain went to war after 0 attacks by Islamist terrorists on British soil, Israel went to war after Hamas fired 3000 rockets. And whereas Britain is not in mortal danger from Islamic terrorism, Israel is threatened by Hamas and Hezbollah, both backed by Iran, not to mention having fought wars against Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq since its inception. Oh, and about Israel's foundation: much of the land was legally purchased by the KKL when Palestine was under Jewish and Turkish rule. Where in the world do tenants have ownership of land? The rest was conquered in war for strategic gain on the premise that otherwise the Arab states that attacked the fledgling state of Israel in 1948 would have pushed the Jews into the sea, which was hardly unlikely. So tell me anti-Zionists: why exactly is Israel so evil compared to Britain? Because obviously your analysis is entirely without prejudice?
livni should be arrested. i dont like her, and with her an additional few thousand politicians whom i dilike should croud english prisons. not a bad idea at all
All the 'usual suspects.' All the usual pointless arguments. OMG how boring can it get? The Livni story was a silly little storm in a teacup - it would never have happened. Just imagine treating a leader of the only democracy in the middle east with an arrest. Britain would have been Western world pariahs. No wonder Glum and his cronies are diving for cover. Name this crackpot magistrate!
Not war criminals? How do you know? Why don't you let the judge decide that, as per the established procedures? Why should we take your word for it?
Just look at the humiliation heaped on Ariel Sharon, then the defence minister, for his role in the massacres of Palestinian refugees in Beirut in 1982 Oh how dreadful to be humiliated Israel is an important ally in the fight against terrorism, as well as a key player in the international effort to bring Iran to its senses Does this give them the right to behave in any way they like
Meanwhile real criminals like Mugabe can visit Copenhagen. The UK and EU have no moral authority whatsoever. The European countries are a joke. They should keep their stupid mouths shut and stop interfering in the rest of the world.
Whenever anti-semitism rears its ugly head the truth becomes a casualty. How sad!
Israel fights the 60 years long existential war against multiple enemies. Terrorism is only a component of this war. Tactics of the war depends on the nature of enemy. If enemy violates Geneva convention (deliberately shelling civilians, using own civilians as human shields, fightnig out of uniform) - you should adjust, but not surrender. Israel's fight is also fight against global jihad. Technological, tactical, intelligence methods developed in Israel help to contain and defeat jihadis everywhere. Israel isn't "difficult ally", this is nonsense. Israel is difficult for foes not friends. After finding impossible to defeat Jewish state by frontal wars and terrorism, Israel's enemies swithched to cultutal and diplomatic jihad. The idea is to elevate long-term practice of double standards, deligitimization of Israel, de-humanizing of Jews - to the diplomatic international area, and suffocate Israel by "legal" means. That is supported by oil money and blackmail by well known sponsors of anti-Israeli and anti-Western war. Oh and BTW one can clearly see by Israeli press, that the popular opinion there is that Britain is an ally, but heavily infiltrated by jihadi fifth column.
How about the Hamas leaders who used children as human shields and even mutilated them, claiming the Israelis did it ? These are the people who should be charged with crimes against humanity. And it is against their own people ! They are vermin.
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