LONDON: MPs from the UK’s ruling Labour Party have urged government ministers not to meet with Israel’s president during his visit to London next week.
Isaac Herzog will spend two days in the UK, but there has been no confirmation from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office if there will be a meeting between the two.
Relations between the UK and Israel are strained after Starmer pledged to recognize a Palestinian state later this month if a ceasefire cannot be agreed in Gaza, amongst other criteria.
London has indicated that it will detain Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he enters the UK, after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest over allegations of war crimes.
Britain has also imposed sanctions on two extremist Israeli politicians, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy suspended around 30 arms export licenses to Israel last year amid fears that the equipment would be used to commit war crimes in Gaza.
Sarah Champion MP, chair of the Commons’ International Development Committee, posted on X: “The UK has recognised the ‘real risk’ of genocide perpetuated by Israel, so unless this meeting is about peace, what message are we sending?”
John McDonnell MP, former Labour shadow chancellor, said: “I am appalled at the decision to allow this representative of a government that is systematically killing Palestinian children on a daily basis to visit our country.
“The prime minister is proving to be absolutely tone deaf to the desperate plight of the Palestinian people and the overwhelming feelings of revulsion of the British people at the brutality of the government Herzog represents.”
Clive Lewis MP said: “Dialogue is one thing, but there are times when the act of meeting itself becomes a political statement.
“Clearly Herzog is not Netanyahu, their politics on many issues are at variance. But that said, the president’s own words have helped legitimise the collective punishment of Palestinians, language that international jurists have warned could fall foul of the genocide convention.”
The visit has also drawn criticism from politicians outside Labour. Calum Miller, the Liberal Democrats’ foreign affairs spokesperson, said Starmer needs to “seize this chance to state unequivocally to President Herzog that there must be an end to the suffering in Gaza through an immediate ceasefire.”
Former Labour MP Zarah Sultana posted on X: “Beyond disgusted that Israeli President Herzog is set to visit London next week to meet Labour ministers. The Labour Party is living up to its reputation as The Genocide Party.” She added: “Herzog should be arrested for war crimes the moment he sets foot on UK soil.”
However, Trade Minister Douglas Alexander told Sky News: “Diplomacy involves meeting people with whom you disagree, and the British government has very strong views in terms of the present conduct of the government of Israel.
“It is right that we are engaging with politicians from across the region, because the suffering is incalculable and it needs to stop … In order to get to a path to that two-state solution, of course you’re going to have to be talking not just to the Palestinians but also to the Israelis.”
His views were echoed by Emily Thornberry MP, chair of the Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee, who told The Guardian that “efforts should be made to engage” with Herzog.
“The only solution to this (war) is through politics, through discussion. Herzog is easier to talk to than many in the extreme rightwing government in Israel. But we mustn’t pull our punches,” she said.
