“Israeli” Minister Cancels Trip to London in Fear of Arrest

Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister Dan Meridor cancelled on Monday a planned visit to London, England, after receiving information that he might be facing a lawsuit or an arrest warrant upon arrival, Haaretz reported.

The Foreign Ministry and the Justice Ministry notified Meridor that he may face charges connected to his role in the "Israeli" occupation raid on the Gaza-bound ship Mavi Marmara on May 31, 2010. The "Israeli" raid resulted in the martyrdom of 9 Turkish activists. Meridor refused to comment on the cancellation.

Meridor is member of a forum of seven ministers that advises Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The forum discussed the arrival of the Gaza-bound flotilla in a meeting that took place on May 26, according to Netanyahu's testimony before a committee investigating the raid.

Meridor's case is not the first of its type. In 2009, a British court issued an arrest warrant for Tsipi Livni over war crimes committed in Gaza while she served as foreign minister. Livni canceled her trip to London as a result of information of the warrant issued against her.

Livni served as foreign minister alongside Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak during the "Israeli" occupation forces offensive in Gaza. The three figures comprised the "troika" of top decision-makers who charted the course of the war.

Other "Israeli" leaders, including former military chief Moshe Ya'alon and ex-internal security chief Avi Dichter, have also canceled trips to Britain in recent years for the same reason.