The UK government has confirmed that Israel’s top soldier, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, was given special diplomatic immunity to visit Britain last month.

Halevi is the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and has been directing the Israeli military’s operations throughout the Gaza genocide.

He arrived in Britain in late November to discuss “the ongoing conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza” with senior UK officials from the Ministry of Defence and Foreign Office. A further meeting was held with Britain’s attorney general, Richard Hermer.

The trip came just three days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for “crimes against humanity and war crimes”.

Halevi was initially reported to have been included in the ICC’s arrest applications for the crime of having “deliberately starved Palestinians in Gaza”.

While Halevi was not ultimately named in those ICC warrants, it is possible to issue private arrest applications in Britain under universal jurisdiction legislation, which allows for the most serious crimes to be prosecuted regardless of where they are committed.

However, the UK government blocked this avenue for redress by issuing Halevi with a “special mission certificate”, granting him temporary diplomatic immunity for the duration of the visit.

In response to a parliamentary question from Labour MP Brian Leishman, the Foreign Office yesterday admitted it “gave consent for special mission status for the visit to the UK on 24-25 November of Lieutenant General Herzl Halevi… and [his] delegation”.

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) told Declassified: “It seems beyond belief that the UK attorney general could meet with the head of the IDF, mere days after arrest warrants were issued for Netanyahu and Gallant. 

“Halevi may not yet have an arrest warrant himself, but regardless, the International Criminal Court Act 2001 obliges the UK to investigate, arrest and prosecute suspected war criminals.”

ICJP spokesman Jonathan Purcell said it was “utterly reckless” for the attorney general to have met Halevi, “not least as it will undermine the UK’s global position by associating so closely with a pariah state”.

https://www.declassifieduk.org/israeli-army-chief-given-special-immunity-to-visit-britain/

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