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'No Red Carpet' for Israel's Herzog: UK Urged to Arrest 'Genocide President' in London
"The only reason to welcome this man into our country," said one critic, "is to immediately facilitate his transfer to The Hague to be tried for war crimes."
Sep 10, 2025
Thousands of people turned out in London Tuesday to call for the arrest of visiting Israeli President Isaac Herzog—who is the subject of criminal complaints alleging incitement to genocide and crimes against humanity—and to denounce UK complicity in the annihilation of Gaza.
Demonstrators rallied outside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office in central London, where they waved Palestinian flags and chanted messages including, "Keir Starmer, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide!" and, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!"
"Herzog's presence here is an insult to every Palestinian who has lost their home, their family, their life," said Amina, a 34-year-old protester holding a sign that read, "Stop the Genocide in Gaza."
"Starmer must act now—arrest Herzog and show the world that the UK stands against war crimes," she added.
Zarah Sultana—a member of Parliament (MP) who recently quit Starmer's Labour Party and joined with fellow former Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn and others to launch the Independent Alliance—told protesters that Herzog has "dehumanized an entire population and openly called for their extermination."
"This Labour government is complicit, is enabling genocide," she added.
Later on Tuesday, protesters gathered outside the InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel, where Herzog was reportedly staying, calling him the "genocide president" and chanting, "Free Palestine!" and "No justice, no peace!"
While not targeted by the International Criminal Court—which last year issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza—Herzog is the subject of criminal complaints filed in Switzerland last year by the advocacy group Legal Action Against Genocide "for incitement to genocide and crimes against humanity."
Days after the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023 that left more than 1,100 Israelis and others dead—at least some of whom were killed by so-called "friendly fire" and under the intentionally fratricidal Hannibal Directive—and around 250 people kidnapped, Herzog suggested that every Palestinian man, woman, and child in Gaza was a legitimate target.
"It is an entire nation out there that is responsible," Herzog told reporters on October 13, 2023. "It is not true this rhetoric about civilians not being aware, not involved. It's absolutely not true. They could have risen up. They could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza."
That same month, Ezra Yachin—a 95-year-old veteran of the Zionist terror militia Stern Gang who allegedly took part in the 1948 massacre of more than 100 Palestinian civilians at Deir Yassin—delivered a motivational speech to troops about to invade Gaza, urging them to "wipe out [Palestinians'] memory, their families, mothers, and children."
Herzog hailed Yachin's speech as "a wonderful example to generations of soldiers."
When the International Court of Justice (ICJ)—which is currently weighing a genocide case against Israel filed by South Africa—issued its January 2024 order for Israel to avoid genocidal acts in Gaza, Herzog's October 13, 2023 comments were listed second in a series of "dehumanizing" statements by Israeli officials who were possibly inciting genocide.
Tuesday's protests against Herzog followed a demonstration earlier in the day outside the Defense and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair at Excel London at Royal Victoria Dock, where thousands of people rallied against UK complicity in Israel's genocidal war and famine.
Israel's 705-day onslaught has left at least 237,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing. Hundreds of thousands of Gazans are starving due to Israel's "complete siege" and engineered famine, and around 1 million Palestinians are facing ethnic cleansing under a US-backed plan to conquer, occupy, and resettle Gaza.
UK leaders have come under fire for cracking down on anti-genocide protests, including by banning the group Palestine Action and arresting hundreds of people who have publicly voiced support for the organization.
Condemnation of Herzog's visit was not limited to the streets of London. In the House of Commons, Scottish National Party Leader Stephen Flynn told fellow parliamentarians that "Gaza is a graveyard."
"Gaza is a graveyard...What does it say of this Prime Minister that he will harbour this man whilst children starve?"SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn criticises the PM's decision to host Israel's president later today. #PMQs
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— Holyrood (@holyroodmag.bsky.social) September 10, 2025 at 5:34 AM
"But 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 signed the artillery shells that destroyed their homes, their families, and their friends," Flynn said.
"What does it say of this prime minister that we will harbor this man while children starve?" Flynn asked.
Zack Polanski, a member of the London Assembly and leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, said Tuesday in a statement that "welcoming a potential war criminal to the UK is another demonstration of how this Labour government is implicated in the ongoing genocide in Gaza."
"A 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," Polanski added. "When this is breached, individuals must be prosecuted, and this should be applied to Herzog."
Critical media also decried Herzog's visit, with the pro-independence Scottish newspaper The National on Wednesday running the front-page headline, "Starmer Rolls Out Red Carpet for Genocide."
Tomorrow's front page 📰Starmer rolls out red carpet for genocide
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— The National (@scotnational.bsky.social) September 9, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Writing for Middle East Eye, British author, political commentator, and Labour politician Ali Milani noted Wednesday that "Starmer has... described the actions of Herzog's government as 'appalling, counterproductive, and intolerable.'"
"To say one thing in Parliament about Israel's 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's foreign policy," he argued.
"There should be no red carpet. There should be no ministerial meetings. Instead, there should be accountability," Milani added. "The only reason to welcome this man into our country is to immediately facilitate his transfer to The Hague to be tried for war crimes."
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Rights Groups Blast UK Bill to Ban Public Bodies From Boycotting Israel
Civil society critics argue the proposal threatens "freedom of expression, and the ability of public bodies and democratic institutions to spend, invest, and trade ethically in line with international law and human rights."
Jun 19, 2023
Advocacy organizations raised the alarm on Monday as a bill to ban local councils and universities in the United Kingdom from boycotting Israel over human rights abuses was introduced in the U.K. Parliament.
The Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill—tabled by Michael Gove, the Conservative secretary of state for leveling up, housing, and communities—aims to "prevent public bodies from being influenced by political or moral disapproval of foreign states when taking certain economic decisions, subject to certain exceptions."
While the long-anticipated proposal would allow the U.K. secretary of state or minister for the Cabinet Office to "specify a country or territory" for which the policy does not apply, the bill makes clear that such exceptions cannot relate "specifically or mainly to Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, or the occupied Golan Heights."
Middle East Eye, exclusively reporting on a draft of the bill Friday, noted that "it is the only reference to any specific countries or territories."
"If passed, this law will stifle a wide range of campaigns concerned with the arms trade, climate justice, human rights, international law, and international solidarity with oppressed peoples struggling for justice."
Dozens of U.K. groups—including the Campaign Against Arms Trade, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Communication Workers Union, European Legal Support Center, Friends of the Earth, Global Justice Now, Greenpeace U.K., Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Liberty, National Union of Students, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, and War on Want—have signed a joint statement of opposition.
"As a group of civil society organizations made up of trade unions, charities, NGOs, faith, climate justice, human rights, cultural, campaigning, and solidarity organizations, we advocate for the right of public bodies to decide not to purchase or procure from, or invest in companies involved in human rights abuse, abuse of workers' rights, destruction of our planet, or any other harmful or illegal acts," says the coalition's statement. "We therefore oppose the government's proposed law to stop public bodies from taking such actions."
Noting that the bill is meant to block boycotts of Israel, the statement adds: "We are concerned that this would prevent public bodies from deciding not to invest in or procure from companies complicit in the violation of the rights of the Palestinian people. We affirm that it is the right of public bodies to do so, and in fact a responsibility to break ties with companies contributing to abuses of rights and violations of international law in occupied Palestine and anywhere else where such acts occur."
The statement continues:
From bus boycotts against racial segregation to divestment from fossil fuel companies to arms embargoes against apartheid, boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaigns have been applied throughout history to put economic, cultural, or political pressure on a regime, institution, or company to force it to change abusive, discriminatory, or illegal policies. If passed, this law will stifle a wide range of campaigns concerned with the arms trade, climate justice, human rights, international law, and international solidarity with oppressed peoples struggling for justice. The proposed law presents a threat to freedom of expression, and the ability of public bodies and democratic institutions to spend, invest and trade ethically in line with international law and human rights.
Along with declaring that "this proposal must be understood in the context of the current government bringing in some of the most repressive legislation we've seen in decades," the coalition's webpage provides some key global context.
"At least 35 states in the U.S. have passed similar laws, as has Germany, and similar legislation has been proposed in several other European countries," the site says. "Broadly speaking, many of these laws have targeted the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which aims to pressure Israel to meet its obligations under international law in relation to justice for Palestinians."
\u201cNearly 70 civil society organisations \u2013 including national trade unions, charities, NGOs, faith, climate justice, and human rights groups \u2013 are uniting to oppose this bill.\u00a0 https://t.co/AuLz1tnXo9\u201d— Friends of the Earth (@Friends of the Earth) 1687192454
A growing list of global human rights groups worldwide condemn Israeli policies and actions against Palestinians as apartheid.
While organizations such as the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council are backing the new bill, leaders of 14 Israeli groups sent a letter Monday urging Tory U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and three other top ministers to oppose it.
As the U.K.-based Jewish News reported:
The letter's authors, who include the directors of Peace Now, the co-directors of Ofek: The Israeli Center for Public Affairs, and the executive director of Combatants for Peace, claimed the bill compromised the U.K.'s current position of "recognizing the illegality of settlements" in the West Bank, and also raised concerns about civil liberty and free speech issues.
They also suggested that rather than preventing antisemitism, the bill was "deeply damaging to the very real fight" against anti-Jewish racism.
Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian Mission to the United Kingdom, also criticized the proposal, according to The National.
"By providing a cloak of impunity, this bill encourages more violations of international law, including the acquisition of territory by force, the moving of civilian settler populations to occupied territory—a war crime—or land confiscations and home demolitions," the ambassador warned, as Israel plans to expand illegal settlements.
"We are deeply concerned that this has broader implications for Britain's supposed commitment to the global rule-of-law-based order," Zomlot added. "We view the proposed legislation as yet another sign that the U.K. is abdicating its historic responsibility for and direct role in creating the plight of the Palestinian people."
Meanwhile, Gove said Monday that "it is simply wrong that public bodies have been wasting taxpayers' time and money pursuing their own foreign policy agenda. The U.K. must have a consistent approach to foreign policy, set by U.K. government."
The Tory minister also claimed that "these campaigns not only undermine the U.K.'s foreign policy but lead to appalling antisemitic rhetoric and abuse. That is why we have taken this decisive action to stop these disruptive policies once and for all."
As the Israeli newspaper Haaretz highlighted:
Local councils in Lancaster, Leicester, and West Dunbartonshire (near Glasgow) have previously voted to divest from Israel, while many student unions across the country have adopted motions in support of the BDS movement that calls to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel.
The proposal was first laid out in the Conservative Party manifesto for the 2019 election and is the brainchild of Gove and Cabinet Secretary Oliver Dowden. Both of their ministries have already published internal guidelines against such boycotts.
There was no formal debate on the U.K. bill in the House of Commons on Monday, as is standard for a first reading. A second reading, which involves debate, "is already slated for July," according to Haaretz. After that, there are several more stages before it may become law.
The measure's introduction in the United Kingdom came as an Israeli forces attack on a West Bank refugee camp killed at least five Palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy, and wounded dozens more—among them, a critically injured teenager who was shot in the head.
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XR Threatens Return to Civil Disobedience as UK Doubles Down on 'Deadly Climate Chaos'
Ignoring key climate demands "will mean that Extinction Rebellion has no choice but to unquit—and to step up our campaign to force the government to take the drastic and radical actions necessary."
Apr 18, 2023
After kicking off 2023 by announcing a departure from "public disruption as a primary tactic" and plans for a mass demonstration in London, Extinction Rebellion U.K. and allied groups threatened a historic wave of civil disobedience if Parliament declines to engage with their demands for climate action by next week.
The new announcement came ahead of "The Big One," the demonstration set to kick off in London on Friday. The coalition's primary demands are:
- We must end all new licenses, approvals, and funding for fossil fuel projects as we begin a transition to a fair society centered on reparatory justice for all life on Earth.
- The U.K. government must create emergency citizens' assemblies to lead on fair, long-term solutions to the most urgent issues of our time.
"We have come to Parliament to deliver two demands for a better world. These demands will give children a fairer, safer future," declared 7-year-old Drake, whose 43-year-old mother and 72-year-old grandfather joined him in delivering the demands to policymakers on Tuesday.
Drake's mother, Hester Campbell, explained that "parents like myself are increasingly concerned about the huge issues our government is neglecting. Hunger, inequality, racism, and the climate crisis—all are rapidly worsening. The government is failing in its duty to protect us and we are calling for that to end."
Dirk Campbell, the boy's grandfather, said that "I've seen the government breaking promise after promise. We are offering them a last chance and they must take it seriously."
"I've seen the government breaking promise after promise. We are offering them a last chance and they must take it seriously."
The U.K. arm of Extinction Rebellion (XR) and other groups are giving the government until 5:00 pm BST on Monday to craft a plan to deliver on their demands.
"Four months ago, Extinction Rebellion announced 'We quit' and entered into a period of alliance-building with other movements and groups by temporarily stepping back from our tactics of civil disobedience," explained XR's Rob Callender. "Since then, the government has made policy announcements that effectively double down on deadly climate chaos. This is their last chance to show us that they are serious about saving our lives and our futures by agreeing to enter negotiations around our demands."
"A failure to do so will mean that Extinction Rebellion has no choice but to unquit—and to step up our campaign to force the government to take the drastic and radical actions necessary to avoid runaway climate change," Callender continued. "This time, we're not alone—allies from this 200-strong bloc will be stepping up alongside us."
"The four days of The Big One will see the people deciding what to do next if the government lets us down yet again by failing to meet our deadline," Callender said. If necessary, by Monday night, "the people will have delivered a plan for stepping up their campaigns," he vowed, and "within three months, Extinction Rebellion will have designed a plan for the greatest acts of civil disobedience in this country's history."
\u201cNOW OPEN - Patchworks is a creative place for EVERYONE. \nWe invite you to use the space as you wish, for talks & workshops or to eat & connect.\nSee you there.\n#TheBigOne #UniteToSurvive\n\n260 Church Road, E10 7JQ: https://t.co/KPjuCWDk7P\nPatchworks events: https://t.co/W8YceV2bu3\u201d— Extinction Rebellion UK \ud83c\udf0d (@Extinction Rebellion UK \ud83c\udf0d) 1681828215
Other organizations supporting The Big One include the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Don't Pay U.K., Friends of the Earth, Global Justice Now, Green Christian, Greenpeace, Just Stop Oil, Landworkers Alliance, Parents for Future U.K., Patagonia, Pesticide Action Network U.K., Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union, Scientists for Global Responsibility, Viva!, and War on Want.
"Every day more lives and livelihoods are lost to the climate crisis," said Nick Dearden of Global Justice Now, adding that the involved groups "now get this fact and want to take action together to do something about it," and "The Big One will be a springboard for building a bigger and bigger movement that drives the long-term systemic change that our society needs."
Don't Pay U.K.'s Joe Davies similarly said that "right now, with everything that is happening in the world, we need solidarity more than ever and that is what The Big One is all about. It will empower and bring together tens of thousands of people with very different opinions and modalities of protest and resistance to share their goals and find ways of delivering them together."
\u201cIT\u2019S TIME TO GO BIG \ud83d\udca5\n\nWe\u2019re in the crucial decade to act on climate and ecological breakdown, but leaders aren\u2019t acting fast enough.\n\nThis weekend we're joining @XRebellionUK for #TheBigOne, where thousands will come together peacefully to demand change \ud83d\udc9a\n\nWill you be there?\u201d— Friends of the Earth (@Friends of the Earth) 1681809307
Final preparations for the gathering—which XR and allies have been promoting across country with "Unite to Survive" banners—come as the U.K. government has not only backed new climate-wrecking fossil fuel projects in the North Sea and "false solutions" like carbon capture and storage but also introduced "authoritarian and draconian laws" targeting protesters, noted XR co-founder Clare Farrell.
"It's quite astonishing how this government want to legislate out of existence a bunch of hippies with tubes of glue in their pocket because they scare the state so much," said Farrell. "It's important to have an open conversation of the impacts of these laws. But it's also important to note that they are not having the chilling effect that the state had hoped for. Instead, people are coming together at moments like The Big One to find new and creative ways to protest effectively."
"Stepping up after The Big One is going to take many different and disruptive forms. It doesn't have to mean taking to the streets with us or gluing yourself to things," she stressed. "We have recently seen lawyers who had ways to disrupt their profession by refusing to take part in the prosecution of climate activists. I can imagine people within the media, which continues to be guilty of untruths and misleading stories about the climate, developing their own ways of disrupting their own industry."
"Over the months ahead," she predicted, "millions of people are going to start getting very creative and clever about what disruption means to them and what they are prepared to do to make it happen—because more and more [of] them know for sure that we are in deep shit and that those in power are doing next to nothing about it."
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