Former Israeli defense minister Shaul Mofaz, who traveled to the United Kingdom on Saturday evening, was not arrested upon landing and continued to his hotel without incident.
Earlier Israel’s Channel Two News reported that Mofaz could face arrest during his stay in the country on possible charges of war crimes as London could not guarantee the retired official diplomatic immunity.
Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “Two diplomats from the London embassy are on the way to greet Shaul Mofaz at the airport. We are ready to deal with any developments.”
Mofaz, 66, who now is a private citizen following his retirement from politics last year, was travelling to London to attend the “Jewish News” conference Monday. Other Israeli statesmen, including opposition leader Isaac Herzog and the former finance minister Yair Lapid, were also scheduled to attend the conference.
It is believed pro-Palestinian groups will try to obtain a warrant for his arrest over alleged war crimes committed by Israel Defense Army soldiers under his stewardship.
However, any motion to arrest the retired official must pass through the UK’s Attorney General’s Office.
Last week former Israeli justice minister Tzipi Livni faced arrest on war crimes charges when she attended the Fortune Most Powerful Women International Summit this week in London not in her official capacity as a parliamentarian with the Zionist Union faction, but rather as a private individual.
To guarantee herself diplomatic immunity she was forced to arrange official meetings, thus changing the status of the trip.
