{"id":414655,"date":"2025-09-11T02:11:27","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T02:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/414655\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T02:11:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T02:11:27","slug":"amid-strained-uk-israel-ties-herzog-holds-tough-meeting-with-starmer-in-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/414655\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid strained UK-Israel ties, Herzog holds ‘tough’ meeting with Starmer in London"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Isaac Herzog sat down on Wednesday in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for what local media described as a tense meeting, with the Israeli leader strongly criticizing the UK\u2019s decision to recognize a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n

The pair did not make any joint public statements, and Starmer had faced criticism from many in his own party for his decision to meet the Israeli leader, as anger grows in the UK over the ongoing war in Gaza. A group of anti-Israel protesters gathered waving Palestinian flags outside 10 Downing Street as the two met.<\/p>\n

Asked why he was meeting Herzog, Starmer said: \u201cI will not give up on diplomacy, that is the politics of students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking after the Wednesday meeting with Starmer, at an event at Chatham House in London, Herzog said that \u201cthings were said that were tough and strong, and clearly we can argue, because when allies meet, they can argue. We are both democracies.\u201d<\/p>\n

While they made their disagreements clear, the two leaders both stressed their nations\u2019 longtime relations and continued status as allies, according to their offices.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n

Ahead of the meeting, a spokesperson for the British prime minister said Starmer planned on raising the issue of the controversial Israeli airstrike on Hamas leaders in Qatar a day earlier, as well as the humanitarian situation in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Starmer told MPs earlier Wednesday that he would make it \u201cabsolutely clear\u201d that \u201cwe condemn Israel\u2019s action\u201d in bombing Doha.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left) greets President Isaac Herzog on the steps of 10 Downing Street in central London on September 10, 2025. (Toby Shepheard \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

Herzog\u2019s statement following the meeting did not mention any discussion of the strike in Qatar. But the president told the<\/a> UK\u2019s Daily Mail that senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya was targeted \u201cbecause he objected to a deal on Gaza. He kept saying \u2018Yes, but\u2019 in negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is number one in Hamas and has the blood of thousands of Israelis on his hands,\u201d Herzog added.<\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s office said that the prime minister expressed his \u201chuge concern\u201d over Gaza to Herzog and implored Israel to change course.<\/p>\n

A Downing Street spokesperson said Starmer told Herzog that Israel \u201cmust stop the manmade famine [in Gaza] from worsening further by letting aid in and halting their offensive operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starmer also told Herzog that the UK and Israel were longstanding allies and that \u201che will continue his work to secure an enduring peace and a better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people alike,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

President Isaac Herzog speaks at an event at Chatham House in London on September 10, 2025. (Alastair Grant \/ POOL \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

In his own statement following their meeting, Herzog said that \u201cBritain and Israel are friends, but among friends there are sometimes disagreements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herzog said he\u00a0\u201cmade clear that the United Kingdom\u2019s stated intention to recognize a Palestinian state at this time would in no way help bring the hostages home, help the Palestinians, or help bring an end to the conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, he averred, such a move will only \u201cembolden extremists across the Middle East and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starmer announced in July<\/a> that the UK would recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly this month unless the Israeli government took substantive steps to end the war and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip \u2014 a move that was swiftly condemned by Israel.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Police stand guard as anti-Israel protesters hold placards and Palestinian flags outside Chatham House, where President Isaac Herzog was speaking, in London, September 10, 2025. (Toby Shepheard \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

Herzog said he stressed to Starmer that \u201cthe immediate and unconditional release of the hostages is both a humanitarian necessity and the only first step on the road to peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president added that he \u201cvoiced strong opposition to any notion of sanctions against the only democracy in the region, and I warned against the dangerous echoing of Hamas\u2019s propaganda campaign of starvation in Gaza, even while 48 hostages remain in brutal captivity.\u201d<\/p>\n

In June, the UK sanctioned<\/a> far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich and froze trade talks<\/a> with Israel. And last month, the British government announced a ban<\/a> on Israeli defense firms attending a major London arms fair.<\/p>\n

Herzog did praise the UK for its decision to initiate \u201csnapback sanctions\u201d against Iran for its ongoing, repeated violations of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, highlighting \u201cthe importance of preventing the Iranian regime from rebuilding its nuclear capability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before his meeting with Starmer, Herzog said he would also raise the topic of \u201cthe ugly wave of antisemitism rising across the country,\u201d although he did not mention the issue in his post-meeting statement.<\/p>\n

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\tIs The Times of Israel important to you?\t\t\t<\/p>\n

If so, we have a request.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Every day, even during war, our journalists keep you abreast of the most important developments that merit your attention. Millions of people rely on ToI for fast, fair and free coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We care about Israel – and we know you do too.<\/strong> So today, we have an ask: show your appreciation for our work by joining The Times of Israel Community<\/strong>, an exclusive group for readers like you who appreciate and financially support our work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tYes, I’ll give\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tYes, I’ll give\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\tYou appreciate our journalism\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re really pleased that you\u2019ve read X Times of Israel articles<\/strong> in the past month. \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.<\/p>\n

Your support is essential to continue our work.<\/strong> We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.<\/p>\n

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community<\/strong>. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE<\/strong>, as well as accessing\u00a0exclusive content\u00a0available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n

Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Isaac Herzog sat down on Wednesday in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for what local…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414656,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[748,393,4884,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-414655","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"category-united-kingdom","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-northern-ireland","13":"tag-scotland","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115183241977838260","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}