Israeli President Herzog should be arrested upon arrival to UK
Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, should be arrested upon arrival in the UK for his involvement in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians.
Scottish Greens MSP Patrick Harvie is calling for Herzog to be arrested upon arrival as head of a state currently on trial for genocide, and which has already been found guilty of apartheid by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant last November. All 125 ICC member states, including the United Kingdom, are required to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they enter the state's territory.
Statements by President Herzog have been explicitly cited as evidence of Israel’s genocidal intent. Herzog's statements called for the collective punishment of Palestinians, making horrific claims that there are no innocent civilians in Gaza, despite thousands of citizens being displaced, slaughtered and starved by Israel, including the elderly, children and even newborn babies.
Patrick said:
“We should not be rolling out the red carpet for a man that was photographed proudly writing messages on bombs, or suggesting that newborn babies are terrorists.
“The statements made by Isaac Herzog fan the flames of hatred and division, inciting violence and destruction of an entire nation. That in itself is a war crime, and any ethical and responsible government would treat it as their duty to arrest him and investigate his role in the assault on Gaza.
“The UK Government has instead restated their genocide denial policy, looking the other way until it is far too late to take action to help.
“Warm words calling for a lasting ceasefire have not been sufficient, when Labour is actively arming and supporting Israeli forces as they inflict atrocities.
“The people of Palestine deserve our unwavering support. When genocide is being live-streamed to us on social media. When the death toll continues to rise with over 500 children on average are killed each month in Gaza. When journalists, medics and aid providers are being targeted, there is a responsibility on all of us to halt it.”