Israel\u2019s president will visit London next Thursday just weeks before the UK is expected to recognise the state of Palestine at the UN general assembly, the Guardian understands.<\/p>\n
Two sources have confirmed Isaac Herzog is expected to meet UK ministers and senior political figures \u2013 the first time a senior Israeli leader has been in Britain since the foreign secretary, David Lammy, met his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa\u2019ar on an unannounced visit in the spring.<\/p>\n
However, any meeting between Herzog and Keir Starmer<\/a> is likely to be hugely controversial within Labour amid the death, destruction and starvation wreaked by Israel\u2019s war in Gaza. No 10 has not confirmed a meeting between Herzog and the prime minister.<\/p>\n Downing Street has previously indicated that the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, faces arrest if he travels to the UK after the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant<\/a> for him over alleged war crimes in Gaza.<\/p>\n Herzog, who is from a different political party to the prime minister, has a more ceremonial role and has previously clashed with Netanyahu over democratic and judicial changes but has broadly backed the military campaign in Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n Herzog himself has received particular attention for a statement he made where he asserted that all Palestinians in Gaza were \u201cunequivocally\u201d responsible for the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023. \u201cThe entire [Palestinian] nation out there that is responsible. It is not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved,\u201d said Herzog in October 2023.<\/p>\n That statement was given additional weight when it was included in the International Court of Justice\u2019s order of the 26 of January 2024 findng it was \u201cplausible\u201d that Israel has committed acts that violate the Genocide Convention a<\/a>nd insisting that Israel must ensure \u201cwith immediate effect\u201d that its forces not commit any of the acts prohibited by the convention and to protect Gaza\u2019s population from further risk of genocide.<\/p>\n Herzog claimed that his statement was misrepresented by the ICJ in selectively quoting him.<\/p>\n Starmer last met Herzog more than a year ago in Paris shortly after he was elected as prime minister, where he praised the \u201chistoric friendship between Israel and the United Kingdom\u201d and reiterated the demand for the return of hostages and \u201csupport for Israel\u2019s right to self-defence\u201d.<\/p>\n But Starmer and Lammy have since been far more vocally critical of Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza, which have killed more than 65,000 people according to the territory\u2019s health ministry.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Sanctions have been imposed on two hardline Israeli cabinet ministers and Starmer has announced plans alongside France to recognise the state of Palestine this September.<\/p>\n However, there remains considerable anger and concern within Labour and elsewhere that the UK has done too little to halt the suffering of Palestinians.<\/p>\n