Sir Ian Blair, head of London's Metropolitan Police, said that there would be an "urgent review of the situation and a full report" after the Sun newspaper reported the case of police constable Alexander Omar Basha.
But there were contradictory reports as to why the officer, whose wife is Lebanese and father Syrian, made the request, while he was also said to be ready to work outside the embassy again now that the Lebanon conflict is over.
The Sun wrote that Basha said that he could not carry out duties due to his "moral objection" to the attacks.
But Dal Babu, head of the Association of Muslim Police, which is representing the officer, said that it was a welfare issue because he felt "uncomfortable and unsafe" guarding the embassy during the conflict.
"The officer is from the Middle East. He has relatives [who] are Muslims and Christians and for welfare reasons, he's asked to be posted elsewhere for a short period of time," he told BBC radio.
Superintendent Babu said that Basha, who the Sun said was in his 20s and had taken part in recent anti-war rallies, was now back on duty with the diplomatic protection group.
He added that "if an incident happens at the Israeli embassy, he will deal with it."
Coverage of the case of Basha - who the Sun said was in his 20s and had taken part in recent anti-war rallies - has sparked controversy between top police figures.
Chief Superintendent Ali Desai, advisor to the National Black Police Association and one of the country's most senior Muslim officers, told BBC radio that there were exceptional circumstances when officers could be taken off certain duties.
"This needs to be taken in the wider context that there is hyper-sensitivity, whether we like it or not, around the Muslim community," he said. "This is clearly not that big of an issue ... we do give dispensation all the time."
But Labour peer Lord Brian Mackenzie, former leader of the Police Superintendents' Association, said that the case sounded like "a step too far."
"If officers have political, religious, ideological, or moral views about things, and all officers will do, then they've got to put their duties above that because their service is to the public," he told BBC radio.
Meanwhile, Glen Smyth, chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation, the body that represents junior and mid-ranking officers, said that the incident in question amounted to a two-hour slot outside the embassy on one day.
"He never refused, he simply asked if he could be given another posting and on the basis of what he said, that was agreed to and his duties were varied.
"It seems fairly sensible to me," he said.
Scotland Yard has said that, while it attempts to balance the individual's needs with those of the force, police requirements take precedence.
And the Metropolitan Police Authority, the body which scrutinizes London's police force, expressed concern in a statement that "the way in which this story is currently being interpreted has the potential to undermine confidence in policing."
Of the Metropolitan Police's roughly 35,000 full-time police officers, 268 have identified themselves as Muslim.
The Israeli offensive in Lebanon in July and August left at least 1,287 dead, nearly all of whom were civilians and many of them children under 12. It also wounded 4,054, according to an AFP count based on Lebanese figures.
Twenty people were injured when a car bomb exploded outside the Israeli embassy, in West London, in 1994.
© 2006 Agence France-Presse