ISRAEL’S president has been blasted over a speech he made while visiting the UK, in which he claimed the genocide in Gaza was being waged to “defend the free world”.
Isaac Herzog was welcomed to Downing Street on Wednesday by Keir Starmer during his visit to London and spoke at the influential foreign affairs think tank Chatham House on Wednesday.
In a clip posted to his Twitter/X account, Herzog shared excerpts from his speech in which he appeared to justify the mass killing of civilians.
He said: “Let’s just put the picture in clear perspective, we were attacked by a jihadist organisation which wants to eradicate us, killing Jews and, by the way, Christians as well and we’ve gone in in order to prevent the attacks on our people and get the hostages back.
“And when we go in, the terrain is full of ammunition and missiles in living rooms and missiles in bedrooms and missiles in shops and mosques.”
We are defending the free world and we are protecting Europe. This the the truth. pic.twitter.com/rR0yjdkGCR
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) September 11, 2025
Herzog, who drew protesters to the hotel he was believed to be staying at, added: “The big mistake of all of these countries, they are making a huge mistake about who’s their friend, who’s their ally, who is their enemy. We are fighting here to defend the free world.
“Israel is there at the frontier of fighting jihadist civilisation. We’re fighting an aggressive, barbaric that has butchered, slaughtered, burnt, raped our citizens.”
In response to the charge that Israel had expanded its military campaign to its neighbours in the Middle East – including Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Qatar and Yemen – Herzog said: “We have not attacked seven countries, we were attacked from seven corners of the Earth by ballistic missiles, by the most advanced weapons supplied by Iran to the proxies who want to eradicate us.”
Brendan O’Hara, the SNP’s Middle East spokesperson, told The National: “There is a genocide unfolding in Gaza and to describe that as ‘defending the free world’ is an abhorrent mischaracterisation of Israel's appalling destruction of Palestine.
“Israel has now illegally bombed several nations, destroyed the international rules-based order and ignored international law every step of the way – that's the reality and that's what people see on their television screens every night of the week.
“Herzog should never have been near Downing Street never mind welcomed in by Keir Starmer which is why this whole sorry affair will be remembered in the history books as a total abdication of responsibility from a Labour Government that has reacted far too slowly throughout this catastrophe."
Scottish Greens MSP Patrick Harvie said that Herzog’s claim to be defending “the free world” was “deeply offensive”.
Harvie added: “He has signed bombs and supported collective punishment of all Palestinians. That is not self-defence, it is genocide.
“People all across Europe have marched in the streets and protested against the horrific crimes that President Herzog and his extremist government are inflicting on the people of Gaza, and will not be fooled by it.
“Herzog and others in power in Israel should be standing trial for war crimes, not being welcomed as a speaker by think tanks. One day, they will face justice.”
Kenny MacAskill, leader of the Alba Party, said: "It was a mistake for Starmer to meet with the president of Israel as it legitimises the actions of Israel in Gaza and now Qatar which have rightly been condemned by countries across the world.
"Israel’s latest actions continue to represent a flagrant breach of international law, a disregard for human life and a threat to the sovereignty of other nations.
“Far from defending the international rules-based order as it claims Israel is fast becoming an international pariah state for undermining international norms of behaviour, treaties and institutions.”
