An Israeli military delegation has canceled an official visit to Britain, officials said Tuesday, the latest in a string of politicians and army officials to put off travel to the U.K. because of fears of war crimes prosecution.

Israel complained that the practice, spearheaded by pro-Palestinian activists, is harming relations, and Britain's visiting attorney general said an urgent solution must be found.

The Israelis called off their trip because their British army hosts could not guarantee they would not be arrested, the Israeli officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. Neither the Israeli military nor the British government would comment.

The incident underlined the effectiveness of a pro-Palestinian legal campaign to harass Israeli officials in the wake of war crimes allegations after Israel's devastating invasion of Gaza a year ago to stop rocket attacks.

Israelis brand the tactic "lawfare," which they denounce as warfare through distortion of laws and conventions. It has crimped the travel plans of many officials and put Israel on the defensive in international bodies.

In Britain, pro-Palestinian groups have forced Israelis to cancel trips for fear of arrest, taking advantage of Britain's "universal jurisdiction" law that allows prosecution of war criminals whose crimes have no direct connection with Britain.

Britain is one of the pioneers of the "universal jurisdiction" concept, but the British government is concerned that its application to Israel is badly straining relations between the two countries and has vowed to solve the problem.

Visiting British Attorney General Patricia Janet Scotland heard a stiff protest Tuesday from deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, who called the situation "intolerable."

Later Tuesday, in a speech at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, she noted that the British government "is looking urgently at ways in which the U.K. system might be changed to avoid this situation arising again and is determined that Israel's leaders should always be able to travel freely to the U.K."

In Britain, pro-Palestinian groups have condemned moves to reform the law.

"We believe no attempt should be made (to change the law)," said Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain. "There's no reason why Israel should be singled out for special treatment. If they're accused of war crimes, we have a duty _ and legislation _ to prosecute."