Minister defends prospect of Government meeting Israeli president in UK

A minister has defended the prospect of UK Government figures meeting Israeli president Isaac Herzog on his visit to Britain next week amid criticism from within Labour ranks.

Douglas Alexander said the UK must engage with Israeli as well as Palestinian authorities as part of its diplomatic push to end the Gaza war.

The visit of an Israeli leader, at a time when the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is dire and Israel presses ahead with a major military offensive, has sparked outrage among some MPs.

Speaking to broadcasters on Friday, trade minister Mr Alexander said diplomacy would involve “meeting people with whom you disagree”.

“I’m genuinely not sure in terms of what the schedule is,” he told Sky News.

“But I’d make a pretty basic point, first of all, 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.”

Mr Alexander said that “in order to get to a path to that two-stage solution, of course you’re going to have to be talking not just to the Palestinians but also to the Israelis”.

The visit comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the “terrible situation” in Gaza this week, and before the UK intends to recognise a Palestinian state later this month.

Labour MPs have demanded the Government does not meet the Israeli leader.

Sarah Champion, Labour chairwoman of the International Development Select Committee, wrote on X: “Israel’s president to visit London next Thursday for expected talks with ministers. I really hope this is inaccurate.

“The UK’s recognised the ‘real risk’ of genocide perpetuated by Israel, so unless this meeting is about peace – what message are we sending.”

Labour MP for Norwich South Clive Lewis said: “The Government should think very carefully about whether meeting president Herzog at all is appropriate.

“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.

“For senior Government ministers to meet with him here in the UK risks sending the message that Britain is prepared to turn a blind eye to that.”

He said not meeting Mr Herzog would send a “clear principled signal” that “until international law is upheld… the UK cannot offer the trappings of legitimacy.”

Former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who sits as an Independent after having the whip suspended over a vote on the two-child benefit cap, told the PA news agency: “The Prime Minister is shaming our country by inviting Herzog to Britain.

“He seems to have no appreciation of our people’s outrage at the ongoing murder of Palestinian children by Israel.

“Herzog is the mouthpiece of the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) butchers and should never be allowed near our country.”

Former Labour MP Zarah Sultana, who now sits as an Independent, 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.

“Herzog should be arrested for war crimes the moment he sets foot on UK soil.”

The Palestinian death toll has surpassed 64,000 since the war triggered by Hamas’s deadly 2023 attack on Israel began nearly two years ago, local health officials said on Thursday.

Downing Street declined to comment when asked about the Israeli president’s trip, saying it would set out any visits “in the normal way”.

Were Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to travel to the UK, domestic courts could decide to enforce an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Mr Herzog’s role as Israeli president is largely ceremonial.

He is from a different political party to Mr Netanyahu and has not always seen eye-to-eye with the premier, although he has largely supported war efforts in Gaza.

It comes as Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK is “working intensely” towards the foundations of a two-state solution ahead of holding talks with officials from Gulf states over the conflict on Friday.

The senior Cabinet minister is meeting figures from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to “build consensus around a framework for lasting peace in the region”, the Foreign Office said.

He will “highlight that the Israeli government’s refusal to allow sufficient aid in to Gaza is indefensible” as well as accepting that Hamas can “play no role in the governance of Gaza”, the department said.

Mr Lammy said: “The situation in Gaza is utterly bleak. Each day the humanitarian crisis worsens with famine threatening to spiral across the territory while the hostages remain cruelly held captive.

“The UK is working in lockstep with our Gulf partners to establish a framework for peace. Ending the war in Gaza means not just reaching a ceasefire but turning it into a durable peace.”