AJN Agency.- Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison arrived in Israel on Sunday for an unannounced solidarity visit, during which they will reportedly meet with President Isaac Herzog and relatives of hostages held in Gaza by terrorists.
The former leaders, both supporters of Israel during their terms, were also scheduled to tour the border towns in southern Gaza devastated by the Hamas onslaught on October 7.
The host of the visit is Danny Danon, Likud MK and former Israeli ambassador to the UN.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Morrison said he was “grateful for the opportunity to join former Prime Minister Johnson in coming to Israel as a show of solidarity with the people and State of Israel and the Jewish community around the world.”
“It is an opportunity to understand first-hand what is happening on the ground, honor those who have been lost, show support for those who have suffered and are now immersed in this terrible conflict and discuss how to move forward,” he declared.
At least 12 British citizens were among the nearly 1,400 people killed in the Hamas cross-border attack on October 7, and five of them are suspected of being among more than 240 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. A British minister has also suggested that dual nationals who Hamas has not allowed to leave the Gaza Strip “could be classified as hostages.”
Pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests have occurred in both the United Kingdom and Australia. At a demonstration in Sydney, anti-Semitic chants of “gas the Jews” and “f- the Jews” were chanted.
Morrison was ousted in the May 2022 election by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s centre-left party.
Meanwhile, Johnson is under growing pressure at home amid a public inquiry into his government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. By mid-July 2021, nearly 130,000 fatalities had been recorded in Britain, one of the worst official COVID-19 death tolls in the world.
Johnson was ousted last year following a series of scandals, including controversy surrounding the Downing Street lockdown parties. In June he resigned as an MP after lawmakers discovered he had deliberately misled them about the matter.
Several world leaders have visited Israel since Hamas carried out its devastating assault on October 7, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron.
2023-11-05 11:28:47
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