{"id":55046,"date":"2025-09-11T14:39:28","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T22:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=55046"},"modified":"2025-09-11T14:39:28","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T22:39:28","slug":"no-red-carpet-for-israels-herzog-uk-urged-to-arrest-genocide-president-in-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/11\/no-red-carpet-for-israels-herzog-uk-urged-to-arrest-genocide-president-in-london\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018No Red Carpet\u2019 for Israel\u2019s Herzog: UK Urged to Arrest \u2018Genocide President\u2019 in London"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Thousands of people turned out in London Tuesday to call for the arrest of visiting Israeli President Isaac Herzog\u2014who is the subject of criminal complaints alleging incitement to genocide and crimes against humanity\u2014and to denounce UK complicity in the annihilation of <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/gaza\">Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Demonstrators rallied outside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u2019s office in central London, where they waved Palestinian flags and chanted messages including, \u201cKeir Starmer, you can\u2019t hide, we charge you with genocide!\u201d and, \u201cFrom the river to the sea, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/palestine\">Palestine<\/a> will be free!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHerzog\u2019s presence here is an insult to every Palestinian who has lost their home, their family, their life,\u201d <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/ilkha.com\/english\/world\/thousands-in-london-rally-to-demand-herzog-s-arrest-over-gaza-genocide-478198\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> Amina, a 34-year-old protester holding a sign that read, \u201cStop the Genocide in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStarmer must act now\u2014arrest Herzog and show the world that the UK stands against war crimes,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-twitter\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Thousands join the emergency protest to demand the government arrest Israeli President Isaac Herzog when he lands in Britain \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll be back again tomorrow (Wed 10 September) at Chatham House at 5:30PM to protest his speech and at 7PM to protest his meeting with Keir Starmer.\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dZSXd1KABw\">pic.twitter.com\/dZSXd1KABw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Palestine Solidarity Campaign (@PSCupdates) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PSCupdates\/status\/1965476141512196269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>Zarah Sultana\u2014a member of Parliament (MP) who recently quit Starmer\u2019s Labour Party and <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2025\/jul\/04\/sultanas-alliance-with-corbyn-shows-starmer-there-is-life-in-the-labour-left-yet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">joined<\/a> with fellow former Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn and others to launch the Independent Alliance\u2014<a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/10\/uk-urged-to-arrest-israeli-president-isaac-herzog-during-london-visit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> protesters that Herzog has \u201cdehumanized an entire population and openly called for their extermination.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis Labour government is complicit, is enabling genocide,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>Later on Tuesday, protesters <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DOaqwTgAuVg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gathered<\/a> outside the InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel, where Herzog was reportedly staying, calling him the \u201cgenocide president\u201d and chanting, \u201cFree Palestine!\u201d and \u201cNo justice, no peace!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While not targeted by the International Criminal Court\u2014which last year <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/icc-arrest-warrant-netanyahu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">issued arrest warrants<\/a> for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza\u2014Herzog is the subject of <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/politics\/switzerland-confirms-israeli-president-hit-with-criminal-complaints-during-davos-visit\/49142486\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> criminal complaints<\/a> filed in Switzerland last year by the advocacy group Legal Action Against Genocide \u201cfor incitement to genocide and crimes against humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Days after the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023 that left more than 1,100 Israelis and others dead\u2014at least some of whom were killed by so-called \u201d<a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2024-09-07\/israel-hannibal-directive-kidnap-hamas-gaza-hostages-idf\/104224430\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">friendly fire<\/a>\u201d and under the intentionally fratricidal <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/israel-hannibal-directive\" target=\"_self\">Hannibal Directive<\/a>\u2014and around 250 people kidnapped, Herzog suggested that every Palestinian man, woman, and child in Gaza was a legitimate target.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is an entire nation out there that is responsible,\u201d Herzog <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/israel-gaza-isaac-herzog_n_65295ee8e4b03ea0c004e2a8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> reporters on October 13, 2023. \u201cIt is not true this rhetoric about civilians not being aware, not involved. It\u2019s absolutely not true. They could have risen up. They could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That same month, Ezra Yachin\u2014a 95-year-old veteran of the Zionist terror militia <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.palestine-studies.org\/en\/node\/1654849\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stern Gang<\/a> who <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/books\/edition\/Blowing_Up_Everything_Is_Beautiful\/xjlMEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=ezra+yachin+deir+yassin&amp;pg=PT35&amp;printsec=frontcover\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">allegedly<\/a> took part in the 1948 <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.counterpunch.org\/2018\/04\/12\/deir-yassin-the-massacre-that-sparked-the-nakba\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">massacre<\/a> of more than 100 Palestinian civilians at Deir Yassin\u2014delivered a motivational speech to troops about to invade Gaza, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/news\/israel-palestine-war-veteran-ezra-yachin-soldiers-erase-children\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">urging<\/a> them to \u201cwipe out [Palestinians\u2019] memory, their families, mothers, and children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Herzog <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/article\/2024\/aug\/13\/israel-gaza-historian-omer-bartov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hailed<\/a> Yachin\u2019s speech as \u201ca wonderful example to generations of soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When the International Court of Justice (ICJ)\u2014which is currently weighing a <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/south-africa-icj-genocide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">genocide case<\/a> against <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/israel\">Israel<\/a> filed by South Africa\u2014<a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/watch-live-international-court-of-justice-delivers-ruling-in-israel-genocide-case\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">issued<\/a> its January 2024 <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.icj-cij.org\/node\/203447\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">order<\/a> for Israel to avoid genocidal acts in Gaza, Herzog\u2019s October 13, 2023 comments were listed second in a series of \u201cdehumanizing\u201d statements by Israeli officials who were possibly inciting genocide.<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday\u2019s protests against Herzog followed a <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/dsei-2025-protest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">demonstration<\/a> earlier in the day outside the <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dsei.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Defense and Security Equipment International<\/a> (DSEI) arms fair at Excel London at Royal Victoria Dock, where thousands of people rallied against UK complicity in Israel\u2019s genocidal war and famine.<\/p>\n<p>Israel\u2019s 705-day onslaught has left at least 237,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing. Hundreds of thousands of Gazans are starving <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/israeli-siege-of-gaza\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">due to<\/a> Israel\u2019s \u201ccomplete siege\u201d and <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/famine-expert-israel-s-starvation-of-gaza-most-minutely-designed-and-controlled-since-wwii\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">engineered famine<\/a>, and around 1 million Palestinians are facing ethnic cleansing under a <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/bezalel-smotrich-annex-gaza\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">US-backed plan<\/a> to conquer, occupy, and resettle Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>UK leaders have come under fire for cracking down on anti-genocide protests, including by banning the group Palestine Action and <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/bank-uk-mural-palestine-action\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">arresting<\/a> hundreds of people who have publicly voiced support for the organization.<\/p>\n<p>Condemnation of Herzog\u2019s visit was not limited to the streets of London. In the House of Commons, Scottish National Party Leader Stephen Flynn told fellow parliamentarians that \u201cGaza is a graveyard.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"bluesky-embed\" data-bluesky-uri=\"at:\/\/did:plc:qd5bfnttxabcuqougdl2vsvz\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lyialty7xs2r\" data-bluesky-cid=\"bafyreid44q2it2kj5crglafvw27fux4q7pkyoiprunzabfw26xlw5sjsrm\">\n<p lang=\"en\">&#34;Gaza is a graveyard&#8230;What does it say of this Prime Minister that he will harbour this man whilst children starve?&#34;SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn criticises the PM&#39;s decision to host Israel&#39;s president later today. #PMQs<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:qd5bfnttxabcuqougdl2vsvz?ref_src=embed\">Holyrood (@holyroodmag.bsky.social)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:qd5bfnttxabcuqougdl2vsvz\/post\/3lyialty7xs2r?ref_src=embed\">2025-09-10T12:34:17.603Z<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/embed.bsky.app\/static\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut rather than end arms sales, extend sanctions, and stand by international law, the prime minister will today welcome into his home.. the man who called for the collective punishment of the Palestinian people, and who <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/declassifiedUK\/status\/1963911689264312648\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">signed the artillery shells<\/a> that destroyed their homes, their families, and their friends,\u201d Flynn said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does it say of this prime minister that we will harbor this man while children starve?\u201d Flynn asked.<\/p>\n<p>Zack Polanski, a member of the London Assembly and leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, said Tuesday in a <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/greenparty.org.uk\/2025\/09\/09\/greens-call-for-the-arrest-of-israeli-president-isaac-herzog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> that \u201cwelcoming a potential war criminal to the UK is another demonstration of how this Labour government is implicated in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA refusal to detain Herzog can be seen as a contravention of the Geneva Convention, which makes clear that states have legal responsibility for preventing the targeting of civilians,\u201d Polanski added. \u201cWhen this is breached, individuals must be prosecuted, and this should be applied to Herzog.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Critical media also decried Herzog\u2019s visit, with the pro-independence Scottish newspaper <em>The National<\/em> on Wednesday running the front-page headline, \u201cStarmer Rolls Out Red Carpet for Genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"bluesky-embed\" data-bluesky-uri=\"at:\/\/did:plc:aimsrmhagunhtv5bqaslvnjn\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lygos6pklp2v\" data-bluesky-cid=\"bafyreiftvvtk5k4t3jyhwd4xjy42taq22ab6cgciuulncwfpdtkmkomhlu\">\n<p>Tomorrow&#39;s front page \ud83d\udcf0Starmer rolls out red carpet for genocide<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:aimsrmhagunhtv5bqaslvnjn?ref_src=embed\">The National (@scotnational.bsky.social)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:aimsrmhagunhtv5bqaslvnjn\/post\/3lygos6pklp2v?ref_src=embed\">2025-09-09T21:43:02.916Z<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/embed.bsky.app\/static\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Writing for <em>Middle East Eye<\/em>, British author, political commentator, and Labour politician Ali Milani noted Wednesday that \u201cStarmer has&#8230; <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2025\/jun\/04\/keir-starmer-calls-israels-recent-actions-in-gaza-appalling-and-intolerable\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">described<\/a> the actions of Herzog\u2019s government as \u2018appalling, counterproductive, and intolerable.\u2018\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo say one thing in Parliament about Israel\u2019s actions, and then to roll out the red carpet for Herzog, would not only endorse the impunity granted to Tel Aviv over Israeli crimes in Gaza; it would also shred the credibility of Labour\u2019s foreign policy,\u201d he argued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere should be no red carpet. There should be no ministerial meetings. Instead, there should be accountability,\u201d Milani added. \u201cThe only reason to welcome this man into our country is to immediately facilitate his transfer to The Hague to be tried for war crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><i>Brett Wilkins is is staff writer for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/\">Common Dreams<\/a>. Based in San Francisco, his work covers issues of social justice, human rights and war and peace. This originally appeared at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/\">CommonDreams<\/a> and is reprinted with the author\u2019s permission.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thousands of people turned out in London Tuesday to call for the arrest of visiting Israeli President Isaac Herzog\u2014who is the subject of criminal complaints alleging incitement to genocide and crimes against humanity\u2014and to denounce UK complicity in the annihilation of Gaza. Demonstrators rallied outside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u2019s office in central London, where [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":372,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"coauthors":[806],"class_list":["post-55046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"meta_box":{"disable_donate_message":"0","custom_donate_message":"","subtitle":"\u201cThe only reason to welcome this man into our country,\u201d said one critic, \u201cis to immediately facilitate his transfer to The Hague to be tried for war crimes.\u201d"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/372"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55046"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55049,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55046\/revisions\/55049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55046"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=55046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}