President Isaac Herzog was set to start a three-day visit to London on Tuesday focused on combating mounting antisemitism in Britain, and, according to a source, was likely to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other top officials.
Herzog’s office confirmed the trip on Monday following days of reports about it in British media.
Also on Monday, Starmer hosted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and a local report said the UK government is of the opinion that Israel is not carrying out a genocide in the Gaza Strip.
According to a statement by Herzog’s office, his visit was meant “to show solidarity with the Jewish community, which is under severe attack and facing a wave of antisemitism.”
The office said the president was invited by Jewish organizations to deliver speeches at communal conferences.
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Herzog “will focus on advancing international efforts to secure the release of the hostages, alongside other political issues,” said his office, adding that he would meet with lawmakers, journalists and influencers.
The President’s Residence did not say he would meet with Starmer or senior ministers, only saying he would meet “public representatives” during his three-day visit.
But a diplomatic official told The Times of Israel that the British leader was likely to host him, possibly in addition to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, though neither the UK nor Herzog’s office would comment on the plans.
According to The Guardian, Labour Party lawmakers in the UK have been urging Starmer and other members of the government to avoid meeting with Herzog due to the ongoing war in Gaza.
Britain’s then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy meets with US Vice President JD Vance (not in picture) at Chevening House, in Chevening, southeast England, on August 8, 2025. (Suzanne Plunkett / POOL / AFP)
Meanwhile, The Times reported Monday that former foreign secretary David Lammy wrote in a letter last week — before he was ousted — that the British government does not believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
“As per the Genocide Convention, the crime of genocide occurs only where there is specific ‘intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group,’” Lammy wrote to Sarah Champion, chairwoman of the British Parliament’s International Development Committee. “The government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent.”
He was responding to a letter from Champion asking why the UK was supplying parts for F-35 fighter jets that have made their way to Israel.
Lammy wrote the letter shortly before he was replaced as foreign secretary.
Government ministers, including Lammy himself, have said previously that it is not up to the government to determine whether Israel is committing genocide. Israel adamantly rejects the charge.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) shakes hands with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the beginning of their meeting at 10 Downing Street in London on September 8, 2025. (Photo by Jonathan Brady / POOL / AFP)
Starmer met with Abbas in London as the UK government was edging towards recognizing a Palestinian state.
The leaders discussed “the need for an urgent solution to end the horrific suffering and famine” in Gaza and the release of hostages held by the Hamas terror group, a spokesperson for Starmer’s Downing Street office said in a statement.
Abbas welcomed the UK’s “pledge to recognizing a Palestinian state ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting later this month, unless Israel changes its course,” the spokesperson added.
Several countries, including Britain and France, have announced they intend to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations later this month. Starmer’s government has said it will take the step if Israel fails to agree to a ceasefire in the war triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 onslaught, or doesn’t take “substantive” steps to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace.
His meeting with Abbas “is part of the prime minister’s ongoing efforts to reach a political solution to the ongoing conflict in Gaza,” Downing Street said ahead of the bilateral.
During their talks, both leaders “agreed there will be absolutely no role for Hamas in the future governance of Palestine” and reiterated the need for a “long-term solution” to the conflict.
Starmer “welcomed” Abbas’s “commitment to reform of the Palestinian Authority as a vital part of this work,” his office said.
Abbas, 89, arrived in London on Sunday night for a three-day visit.
He has been barred from attending the UN General Assembly in New York by the US State Department.
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