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LONDON: British MPs berated UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for hosting the Israeli president on Wednesday “while children starve” in Gaza.

Starmer met Isaac Herzog in London for talks despite dozens of politicians, including from his own party, questioning how he was allowed into the country. 

During prime minister’s questions in parliament, the Scottish National Party’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, angrily condemned Starmer over the meeting.

“Gaza is a graveyard,” he said. “What does it say of this prime minister that he will harbor this man whilst children starve?”

The MP said that Starmer had welcomed into his home a man who “called for the collective punishment of the Palestinian people and who signed the artillery shells that destroyed their homes, their families and their friends.”

He said that Starmer was opting to meet Herzog rather than ending arms sales to Israel and extending sanctions against the country in response to its war that has killed tens of thousands of civilians. 

The prime minister responded, saying that he “would not give up on diplomacy” in trying to bring peace to the region.

The British government has been accused of failing to take meaningful measures agains Israel for the war, which many academics, observers and governments describe as a genocide.

Starmer has threatened to recognize a Palestinian state if Israel does not comply with certain conditions over the conflict. The UK has also sanctioned extremist members of the Israeli government and suspended arms exports licenses for certain weapons used in Gaza.

However, there are widespread calls across the political spectrum for stronger action.

Sixty MPs and Lords called on the government to deny Herzog entry to the UK and said that his visit risked the government being complicit in genocide in Gaza, under a UN treaty.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski accused Herzog of being “complicit while the Israeli government has engaged in committing genocide in Gaza.”

He said that the Israeli president should be met with “handcuffs not handshakes” when he arrived for his meeting.

Herzog has previously said that there are “no innocent civilians in Gaza” and “it is an entire nation that is responsible.”

In December 2023, he signed an artillery shell with the words “I rely on you” before it was fired into Gaza as part of the war that started in October 2023.

LONDON: Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he had argued with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Downing Street on Wednesday during a “tough” meeting that covered deep disagreements over recent behavior by each other’s country.
The meeting comes a day after Israel expanded its attacks on Hamas by launching an airstrike aimed at killing the Islamist group’s political leaders in Qatar, a British ally in the Middle East, which Starmer condemned.
Israel has been angered by Britain’s plans to join several other Western countries, including France and Canada, in recognizing a Palestinian state later this month — unless Israel meets conditions including a ceasefire in Gaza.
“Things were said that were tough and strong, and clearly we can argue, because when allies meet, they can argue. We are both democracies,” Herzog said at a later Chatham House event.
He said Starmer’s plan for Palestinian statehood and his views on humanitarian aid in Gaza had been the root of the disagreement and added that he had invited the British government to undertake a fact-finding mission to Israel.
Starmer’s office said the British leader implored Herzog to change course over Gaza, expressing deep concern about the humanitarian crisis and urging Israel to allow in aid and halt offensive operations.
He reaffirmed that the UK and Israel were longstanding allies and said he remains committed to working toward an enduring peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Earlier, the two men briefly shook hands without smiling on the steps of Downing Street before they entered the building.
Starmer also raised with Herzog the Israeli airstrike on Qatar, condemning the incident as “completely unacceptable.”
“He said the strikes were a flagrant violation of a key partner’s sovereignty and do nothing to secure the peace we all desperately want to see,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
The Gaza war has strained Israel’s relations with Britain and other European countries. Britain has blocked Israeli officials from attending its biggest defense trade show taking place this week.
Starmer is under pressure from politicians in his own party to take a tougher approach to Israel, but he told parliament on Wednesday that diplomacy was needed to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and to get the Israeli hostages released by Hamas.
Herzog’s role as Israel’s president is mainly ceremonial but he caused anger when he said all residents of Gaza were responsible for the Hamas-led attack on Israel after the October 7 attacks in 2023.
Asked earlier on Wednesday why he was meeting Herzog, Starmer said: “I will not give up on diplomacy, that is the politics of students.”
Wes Streeting, who is health minister in Starmer’s government, said this week that Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza was leading it to “pariah status.”
Starmer also hosted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, where they agreed there would be “absolutely no role” for Hamas in the future governance of a Palestinian state.
Britain has promised to recognize a Palestinian state ahead of the UN General Assembly later this month unless Israel meets four conditions, including ending the war in Gaza and allowing more aid into the Palestinian enclave.