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Starmer to meet Israel's president in Downing Street2 days agoShareSaveBrian WheelerPolitical reporter andJames LandaleDiplomatic correspondentShareSaveEPA/ShutterstockIsaac Herzog is flight in flamesdue to make a three-day visit to the UKSir Keir Starmer is to hold talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Downing Street on Wednesday.No 10 said Sir Keir will raise the "intolerable situation in Gaza" and the "action Israel must take to end the horrific suffering we're witnessing" with the Israeli president.It comes after Israel carried out a strike on senior Hamas leaders in Qatar's capital Doha, and warned all residents of Gaza City to leave immediately in anticipation of a huge ground offensive.Sixty MPs and peers, including members of Labour, the Greens and the SNP, are calling on the government to deny Herzog entry to the UK to avoid the risk of being complicit in genocide in Gaza, under the terms of a UN treaty. Israel carries out strike on senior Hamas leaders in Qatari capitalIsraeli military orders all Gaza City residents to evacuate ahead of ground assaultWhat does recognising a Palestinian state mean?Israel says it is working to destroy the Palestinian armed group Hamas and get back hostages they have taken. It has strongly denied allegations of genocide, claims which are also being examined by the International Court of Justice.Isaac Herzog does not have executive powers and his office has said he is visiting the UK "to show solidarity with the Jewish community, which is under severe attack and facing a wave of antisemitism".But Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said he must answer allegations being levelled at the Israeli government over its actions in Gaza."I think he needs to answer the allegations of war crimes, of ethnic cleansing and of genocide that are being levelled at the government of Israel," he told Times Radio."I think he needs to explain how, when we have seen so much evidence of the atrocities being perpetrated by the Israeli army, how he can possibly claim that the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) is the most moral army in the world."I think he should explain that, if it is not the intent of the government of Israel to perpetrate genocide or ethnic cleansing, how on earth does he think his Israeli government is going to achieve its stated aim of clearing Palestinians out of Gaza without the war crimes, without ethnic cleansing, or even without genocide?"Downing Street underlined Sir Keir's "revulsion" at the suffering in Gaza, but stopped short of repeating Streeting's calls for Herzog to answer for alleged Israeli war crimes and ethnic cleansing. A spokesman said Sir Keir will raise the "intolerable situation in Gaza" and the "action Israel must take to end the horrific suffering we're witnessing" with the Israeli president.Sir Keir condemned the strikes on Doha, in a post on X, saying they "violate Qatar's sovereignty and risk further escalation across the region".A Downing Street spokesperson later said Sir Keir had spoken with the Emir of Qatar and "reiterated his condemnation of the strike" and gave his condolences for the death of a Qatari security officer.They added: "The prime minister underscored his gratitude at the indispensable role Qatar has played in trying to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas."Lammy letterIn a letter to a select committee published last week, sent when he was foreign secretary, David Lammy said the UK had not concluded that Israel is committing genocide, as set out in a United Nations treaty. But Downing Street insisted on Tuesday this did not represent a shift in the UK's position, which was still that it is for international courts to determine whether Israel "has or has not" committed genocide in Gaza.In the letter, sent before he was replaced as foreign secretary in Friday's cabinet reshuffle, Lammy said: "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'. "The government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent," it added.The prime minister's official spokesman said Lammy's letter "reflects the UK's position that we've not come to any conclusion as to whether genocide has or has not been committed in Gaza".The spokesman said the government was clear that it was for "international courts to make these determinations".Foreign Office sources said the government had merely considered whether there was a "serious risk of genocide" - as it was obliged to do as a signatory of the Genocide Convention. That assessment, the sources said, was required under its arms exports licensing criteria and reflected a one-off judgement based on the information at the time. And it was then that the government did not conclude that Israel was acting with genocidal intent.Lammy, who was made justice secretary and deputy prime minister in the reshuffle, had been responding to a letter from the Labour chair of the development committee, Sarah Champion.In her letter to Lammy, dated 12 August, Champion raised concerns that the UK's decision to exempt F-35 fighter jet components from suspended arms exports to Israel breached its duty to prevent genocide under the UN treaty. EPA/ShutterstockSir Keir Starmer hosted Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas in Downing StreetIn a statement, campaign group Amnesty International said Sir Keir Starmer "must not provide diplomatic cover for a state committing genocide," when he meets Herzog. "This visit is a test of leadership and principle: polite handshakes and warm words will demonstrate neither."The new Green Party leader Zack Polanski called for the arrest of Herzog when he visits the UK, accusing him of being part of the "Israeli government engaged in an ongoing genocide".On Monday night, Sir Keir hosted Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas in Downing Street.Abbas welcomed Sir Keir's pledge to recognise a Palestinian state ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York later this month if Israel does not change course.Both leaders agreed there will be "absolutely no role" for Hamas in the future governance of Palestine, a Downing Street spokesman said."They discussed the intolerable situation in Gaza, and the prime minister reiterated the need for an urgent solution to end the horrific suffering and famine - starting with an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and a huge surge in humanitarian aid." Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey also met Abbas, and called on the UK government summon the US ambassador to demand the reversal of what he called President Trump's "reckless and callous" block on Palestinian visas ahead the UN meeting."He [Trump] can't be allowed to act as a block on progress towards a two-state solution," added Sir Ed.The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.At least 64,605 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. Israel-Gaza warKeir Starmer
