Israeli President Isaac Herzog will visit London next Thursday, just weeks before Britain is expected to recognise the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly, The Guardian reports citing two sources familiar with the plans. Herzog is due to meet senior ministers and political figures, marking the first visit by a senior Israeli leader since Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s unannounced trip to Israel in the spring. No 10 has not confirmed whether Herzog will meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer, though such a meeting would likely provoke controversy within Labour, given the scale of civilia

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will visit London next Thursday, just weeks before Britain is expected to recognise the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly, The Guardian reports citing two sources familiar with the plans. Herzog is due to meet senior ministers and political figures, marking the first visit by a senior Israeli leader since Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s unannounced trip to Israel in the spring. No 10 has not confirmed whether Herzog will meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer, though such a meeting would likely provoke controversy within Labour, given the scale of civilian deaths, destruction and food shortages in Gaza since Israel’s military campaign began. The UK has previously indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would risk arrest if he travelled to Britain, after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant against him for alleged war crimes. Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial post, has previously clashed with Netanyahu over domestic judicial reforms but has largely supported Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The Israeli president has faced scrutiny for remarks made in October 2023 in which he said Palestinians in Gaza were “unequivocally” responsible for the Hamas attacks of October 7. The International Court of Justice later cited the statement in a January 2024 ruling that found it “plausible” Israel had violated the Genocide Convention, ordering it to prevent further such acts. Herzog has since claimed his words were misrepresented. Starmer last met Herzog in Paris shortly after becoming prime minister, describing the “historic friendship” between Britain and Israel while calling for the release of hostages and affirming Israel’s right to self-defence. However, both Starmer and Lammy have grown more critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, where more than 65,000 people have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities. The UK has imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers and announced, alongside France, plans to formally recognise Palestine in September, as we recently reported. Critics within Labour and other parties say the government has still done too little to halt the humanitarian crisis. Tensions are also building across the political spectrum. Last week, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said he would boycott a state dinner hosted by King Charles during US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit, citing Washington’s failure to pressure Israel to end the war.  

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