TEHRAN – Israeli President Isaac Herzog is poised to visit the UK this week, but his arrival has stirred a political storm. Some MPs are demanding his arrest, accusing him of backing Israel’s military operations in Gaza and calling him the “mouthpiece of IDF butchers.”

Herzog is expected in the UK on Wednesday and Thursday, The Guardian reported. Some Labour MPs have urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his ministers to avoid meeting Herzog, warning that any engagement could send a confusing message about the UK’s stance on the Gaza conflict.

John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, argued that Herzog should be barred from entering the UK. “I am appalled at the decision to allow this representative of a government that is systematically killing Palestinian children on a daily basis to visit our country,” he said, according to the UK news outlet.

McDonnell added, “The prime minister is proving to be absolutely tone deaf to the desperate plight of the Palestinian people and the overwhelming feelings of revulsion among the British public at the brutality of the government Herzog represents. Herzog is the mouthpiece of the IDF butchers and should never be allowed near our country.”

Labour MP Sarah Champion, chair of the international development committee, expressed her concerns on X, questioning the purpose of the proposed meeting: “The UK has recognized the ‘real risk’ of genocide perpetuated by Israel, so unless this meeting is about peace, what message are we sending?”

MP for Coventry South, Zarah Sultana, called for Herzog’s arrest. “Beyond disgusted that Israeli President Herzog is set to visit London next week to meet Labour ministers. The Labour Party is living up to its reputation as The Genocide Party. Herzog should be arrested for war crimes the moment he sets foot on UK soil,” she wrote on X.

Unlike Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there is currently no international arrest warrant for Herzog, who has largely supported Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

The controversy over Herzog’s visit comes after Starmer condemned the “terrible situation” in Gaza this week. He has indicated that the UK may recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly this month, unless Israel meets certain conditions it appears unlikely to fulfill. Critics argue, however, that Starmer’s stance amounts more to a charm offensive toward Palestinians, intended to deflect criticism over the UK’s continued military support for Israel.

Political pressure on Israel is undoubtedly crucial to halting the war in Gaza, which has claimed more than 64,000 Palestinian lives since October 2023. Yet unless that pressure is backed by concrete actions, statements of concern risk remaining symbolic gestures rather than meaningful steps toward peace. The Herzog visit now serves as a litmus test: whether the UK will take a firm stand for Palestinian lives, or allow diplomacy to be reduced to empty optics.