Herzog is on an official visit to Estonia following trips to Latvia and Lithuania, and Karis’ own excursion to Israel and Palestine in the spring.
The pair held a press conference at Kadriorg Palace on Wednesday afternoon after a meeting to discuss bilateral relations.
The meeting comes almost two years into Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, which it launched in response to Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023. Hamas killed approximately 1,200 people and another 251 were taken to Gaza as hostages in 2023. Some have still not been returned.
Since then, at least 61,020 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry says. About 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.1 million people have been displaced, some repeatedly, and are living in overcrowded and dire conditions, the BBC reports.
Several Israeli human rights organisations, genocide scholars and the UN rights expert have said Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza constitutes genocide against the Palestinian population. The Israeli government strongly rejects the accusations.
Estonia supports two-state solution
Alar Karis and Isaac Herzog. Source: Raigo Pajula.
Karis laid out Estonia’s view on the situation, telling the assembled media: “Estonia has always supported and will continue to support in the future the two-state solution in the Middle East.”
But he said peace is needed first.
“As Estonians, we do know that if a nation wants independence it cannot be denied it. But the prerequisite for achieving this is peace. So this means also freeing the hostages and also respecting humanitarian laws,” Karis said, speaking about Palestine.
The “two-state solution” is an internationally backed formula for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. It proposes an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital. It would exist alongside Israel.
Responding to a question from ERR, Herzog said it is not possible to move forward with a two-state solution at the moment due to a lack of trust and dialogue between both sides.
“The whole idea of a two-state solution right now is futile, will be adverse to the whole notion of peace, will not help one Palestinian, will make people more frustrated,” Herzog said.
However, the Israeli president welcomed Estonia’s “pragmatic approach.”
Catastrophic humanitarian crisis
The Estonian president criticized the humanitarian situation in Palestine and said aid needs to reach those in need.
“This current catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza is deeply worrying. A large proportion of those killed are civilians. The price of fighting terrorism cannot be like this, it is not acceptable. It is important that humanitarian aid be accessible to all the residents who need it in Palestine. This must be done peacefully, not at the cost of civilians, especially children,” he said, standing beside the Israeli head of state.
Herzog said that in recent weeks, Israel had overhauled its approach to humanitarian aid.
President Isaac Herzog visited Estonia and met with President Alar Karis in Tallinn on August 6, 2025. Source: Office of the President of Republic of Estonia (Arno Mikkor, Aron Urb, Raigo Pajula)
More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have warned of mass starvation in Gaza, and accuse Israel of impeding the distribution of crucial aid, the BBC reports.
The UN has repeatedly called for the full and sustained entry of humanitarian supplies, but access remains sporadic and many aid trucks are looted.
Israel insists there are no restrictions on aid deliveries and has repeatedly rejected what it describes as “the false claim of deliberate starvation”.
Allow media into Gaza
Asked about the media and how it has reported the conflict, Karis said media information should always be checked, regardless of the topic.
“But every time I watch TV, it is also disturbing for me. So that is why we should work together to end this war in Israel and Palestine, in Ukraine and a number of other places in the world,” Karis said, adding that there are more than 50 conflicts in the world.
“And, of course, what helps is to open up. If you talk about Gaza, to open up, to open up to media, observers and so forth, so that we get [the] truth from Gaza – and from other places of conflict in the world,” he added.
International media have not been allowed access to the Gaza Strip since the conflict began unless they are embedded with the Israeli Defense Forces.
Support for Ukraine
The pair also discussed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Karis said Kyiv needs more military aid and said he called on Israel to “take a more active role” in supporting Ukraine “by increasing pressure on Russia at the international level”.
Herzog said in response that Israel “is proud of its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity” and is acting in many ways to help Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, including with humanitarian aid.
Karis said Estonia has a duty to understand conflicts outside of the region.
“Conflicts in different regions of the world are all interconnected, if we want to resolve these issues, if we want to everybody to understand the crisis near us, we also have to understand what is happening elsewhere in the world,” the Estonian president said.
Both presidents said the Israeli hostages should be freed. Herzog held up images of hostages still in captivity for the media to see.
Herzog also thanked Estonia for standing against antisemitism and quoted Jaan Kaplinski (1941-2021), a noted Estonian writer of Jewish heritage.
The Israeli head of state also met with Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) and the Estonian Jewish community. He is accompanied by a business delegation during his visit.
Estonia recently ruled out plans to recognise Palestine as a state. Israel will open an embassy in Tallinn in the near future. Estonia currently buys weapons from Israel.
The full press conference with English translation can be viewed above.
Postimees: A ‘few dozen’ peaceful protesters were present in Kadriorg
“A few dozen” peaceful protesters rallied on the road leading to Kadriorg Palace on Wednesday to show their discontent at Herzog’s visit.
Protesters held Palestinian flags, posters with slogans such as “Free Palestine” and “Shame” and chanted “Free Palestine,” daily newspaper Postimees reported.
Urmet Tambre, head of the Police and Border Guard Board’s (PPA) Northern Prefecture Security Bureau, put the number of protesters at “a few dozen” and described the event as “peaceful, without incident and not requiring prior registration [with the authorities].”
“Everyone in Estonia has the right to express their opinion and feelings as long as it does not violate the rights of other people,” Tambre added, noting that while “we are vigilant about incitement to hatred both in the cityscape and on social media… today’s demonstrations have passed peacefully.”
This story was updated to change the headline and add additional context.
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