UK Foreign Secretary Lammy makes unannounced visit to Israel, meets with FM Sa’ar

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with his British counterpart David Lammy in Jerusalem on Sunday in a low-profile meeting that was only announced after the fact. 

According to a statement from the Foreign Ministry, the two discussed Iran, Syria and Lebanon, as well as the current hostage negotiation efforts. 

“Israel is interested in a hostage deal and is working to achieve it. We will soon know whether Hamas is interested,” Sa’ar told Lammy. 

Sa’ar also emphasized to Lammy the need to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, according to the foreign ministry statement. 

At the end of the meeting, Lammy invited Minister Sa'ar to pay an official visit to the UK in the near future. 

Pleasure to host in Jerusalem my British counterpart David Lammy @DavidLammy. We discussed a wide range of issues, including Syria, Lebanon and the Iranian threat.
I emphasized Israel's intent on securing a hostage deal in Gaza. Israel is a pillar of strength and stability in… pic.twitter.com/73Ruq7UJBP

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) January 12, 2025

Reports suggest that British media were not informed in advance about David Lammy’s decision to make an unscheduled stop in Israel during his trip to Saudi Arabia, where he was set to discuss the future of Syria. The UK government’s official press release about Lammy’s visit only mentioned Saudi Arabia, without any reference to the stop in Israel.

The meeting follows tensions in the relations between Israel and the UK government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. 

In November, Lammy said that he would be required to order the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to arrive in the UK. 

Israel has denied the allegations and criticized the court for this move, as has the United States. The governments of several countries, including Poland and Hungary, that are parties to the Rome Statute have said they would ignore the arrest warrants.

While in Oct. of 2024, Lammy announced a third round of sanctions against Israeli organizations operating in Judea and Samaria, citing Israeli settler violence. 

Lammy said the asset freeze would “help bring accountability to those who have supported and perpetrated such heinous abuses of human rights,” and called on the Israeli government to “crack down” on settler violence. 

Following the start of the Gaza War, the UK imposed a partial suspension of arms sales to Israel which only became known in early September. The decision to impose a sales suspension in the middle of a war drew sharp criticism from Prime Minister Netanyahu. The prime minister called it “shameful” and said it would “not change Israel's determination to defeat Hamas.”