Israeli Foreign Minister to Visit UK Next Week: Report

Occupied Palestine (Quds News Network)- Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is reportedly set to visit the United Kingdom next week. Sa’ar, a staunch opponent of Palestinian statehood, has consistently opposed Gaza ceasefires and a two-state solution, while rejecting any political settlement with Palestinians.

Middle East Eye has revealed, citing sources close to the British government, that Sa’ar is expected to make an official visit, likely next Thursday.

Since the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal ended on March 1, Israel has blocked all humanitarian aid from entering the Palestinian territory, violating the terms of the agreement. Human rights groups and countries have condemned the move, accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.

Sa’ar, however, justified the decision, claiming without evidence that humanitarian assistance fuels Hamas.

“Aid that goes to Hamas is not humanitarian,” Sa’ar said, ignoring the dire need for food and medical supplies for 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza. Sa’ar insisted the blockade was in line with the ceasefire agreement, portraying it as a legitimate move, it being considered an act of collective punishment under international law.

Sa’ar also called repeated warnings of the risk of famine in Gaza “a lie”.

“With regards to this starvation [claim], that was a lie during all this war. That was a lie,” Sa’ar said at a press conference in occupied Jerusalem, in response to a question about what would happen if people began to starve.

The British government slammed the blockade, including Israel’s decision to cut electricity from the Gaza Strip. “A halt on goods and supplies entering Gaza, including basic needs such as electricity, risks breaching Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law,” the prime minister’s official spokesman said.

The visit next week by such a high-ranking Israeli official will be seen as controversial because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister are wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.

Sa’ar is notoriously known for opposing any political settlement with the Palestinians.
During previous Israeli assaults on Gaza in 2009 and 2014, he was a vocal opponent of any ceasefire with resistance groups in the enclave.

In 2022, he refused to allow Palestinian workers from Gaza to cross into Israel for work.

In February 2024, Sa’ar voted in the cabinet against the establishment of a Palestinian state, affirming his previous opposition to any Palestinian statehood.

In December 2019, he said that the two-state solution was an “illusion”, claiming that the boundaries of the State of Israel are “between the river [Jordan] and the [Mediterranean] Sea”.

In 2005, Sa’ar strongly opposed former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan for Gaza and blamed the withdrawal of Israeli settlers and troops from the territory.

The British government, however, officially backs a two-state solution and recently announced its support for Egypt’s plan for Gaza’s reconstruction.