LONDON: The upcoming visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to London on Wednesday has prompted controversy in the UK, with campaigners calling for his arrest and MPs voicing their concern about the trip.
The Friends of Al-Aqsa campaign group has filed a request to the director of public prosecutions for an arrest warrant to be issued against Herzog for alleged war crimes.
The claim centers around statements made by him in the aftermath of the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, after which he said “the entire Palestinian nation” was responsible.
Those words, it is claimed in the request, were used by Israeli soldiers as justification for their actions in the subsequent war in Gaza.
A lawyer advising the group said normally heads of state would be immune from arrest and prosecution in the UK, but a precedent had been set by the International Criminal Court’s issuing of arrest warrants for heads of state.
