Ex-Israeli foreign minister in UK police summons claim

By Busra Akin Dincer

LONDON (AA) - A former Israeli foreign minister said Sunday that she was summoned for questioning by British police over alleged war crimes committed in Gaza.

Tzipi Livni, whose allegations were backed by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, was reportedly called to answer questions over an Israeli operation in Gaza in 2008 and 2009 that led to around 1,400 Palestinian deaths.

The Haaretz newspaper in Israel, which organized a London conference Livni addressed on Sunday, said she was contacted by police on Thursday but the summons was cancelled following discussions between Israel and the U.K.

“The British legal system is being abused,” she told the conference, according to the newspaper. She added that Israeli politicians and military figures were being “forced to participate in a theater of the absurd” during visits to the U.K. Her comments are thought to relate to overseas legal threats against Israeli figures involved in military decision-making.

Livni was deputy prime minister and foreign minister during Operation Cast Lead, which saw Israel launched airstrikes and a ground invasion in Gaza following rocket attacks on southern Israel. She is now a member of the Israeli parliament, or Knesset.

In a statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said it viewed the request by the Metropolitan Police “with great concern”.

A police spokesman told Anadolu Agency: “We do not confirm or deny who we may wish to speak to as part of any ongoing investigation. If you were to ask me if there is an ongoing investigation the answer is no.”