Both leaders have competing visions for Israel’s security and Palestinian self-rule with little chance of finding common ground
The meeting in London between Keir Starmer and the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, could not have come at a more difficult time for either leader, and far from easing British-Israeli relations, the encounter risked setting them back yet further.
Once the meeting on Wednesday was in the diary, there was a faint hope within Downing Street that the two men would at least listen to each other about their competing visions for Israel’s future, including a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict, a vision Herzog once shared. Downing Street also hoped Herzog might be an ally in helping with the evacuation of injured children from Gaza, and with helping young Palestinians come to the UK to study.
Now, at best, in the words of the former Middle East minister Alistair Burt, the two men probably spoke past each other when they met at No 10 as ultimately at present they have two such different visions of how to achieve security for Israel.
Starmer still insists on a two-state solution in which Hamas does not rule, Palestinian elections are held within a year and the Palestinian Authority is reconstituted and becomes the long-sought partner for peace.
