Eurasia Press & News
Exclusive: Israeli air force commander Tomer Bar received a “special mission” certificate for his secret trip to the UK, protecting him from arrest for war crimes.
The UK government has admitted that Israel’s air force chief Tomer Bar was given special diplomatic immunity to visit Britain earlier this summer.
The revelation comes as Israeli president Isaac Herzog is about to visit Britain, with campaigners planning protests to greet him.
Major General Bar travelled to Oxfordshire in July to attend the Royal International Air Tattoo event at RAF Fairford.
The trip was organised in secrecy, but news of Bar’s arrival in Britain was reported in the Israeli press shortly before his arrival.
When asked if Bar was attending the airshow, Britain’s Ministry of Defence initially told Declassified: “Israel remains a key partner”.
The spokesperson added: “The Royal International Air Tattoo is a world-leading airshow and we routinely host a large number of dignitaries from across the globe”.
The Foreign Office has now confirmed that Bar visited Britain and was given “special mission” diplomatic immunity for the duration of his trip.
Special mission certificates are used to protect foreign officials from arrest under universal jurisdiction legislation, which allows for the most serious crimes to be prosecuted regardless of where they are committed.
The Foreign Office said Bar “would have had bilateral engagements with UK ministers and officials during [his] visit, pertinent to the individual bilateral relationship”.
‘Break their backbones’
As head of state, Herzog automatically holds diplomatic immunity and will not require special mission status to protect him from prosecution attempts during his visit.
He is expected to meet tomorrow with UK prime minister Keir Starmer and newly appointed foreign secretary Yvette Cooper in Downing Street.
He will also “deliver speeches at major conferences designed to express solidarity with Israel and rally support for the fight against anti-Semitism”, according to Israeli media reports.
Declassified understands he may speak at the Chatham House think tank tomorrow evening, although the venue did not respond to a request for comment.
Speaking after the October 7 attack, Herzog said of Palestinians living in Gaza: “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible. This rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved, it’s absolutely not true.
“They could’ve risen up, they could have fought against that evil regime”. Herzog added: “We will fight until we break their backbone.”
His comments were cited by the International Court of Justice as plausible evidence of incitement to genocide.
Tomer Bar
Bar is responsible for Israel’s aerial bombardment of Gaza which has devastated the coastal strip and left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead.
He ordered pilots returning from air strikes on Iran to drop any spare bombs on Gaza before landing.
Last month, the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) announced that it had tracked the Israeli chain of command which ordered the strike on five Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza.
The journalists included the correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Moamen Aliwa, and their assistant Mohammed Noufal.
Investigators at the HRF “followed the trail from the moment a drone camera locked onto al-Sharif’s position to the instant the missile hit”.
They identified nine Israeli officers including IDF chief of the general staff Eyal Zamir, Southern Command commander Yaniv Asor, and Bar.
“The killing of 5 Al Jazeera reporters and staff and the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza is gravely concerning”, declared Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer in response.
Yet it was Falconer’s Foreign Office which had shielded Bar from arrest in Britain just one month prior.
Three other “special mission” certificates have been provided to Israeli officials since the beginning of the Gaza genocide.
They include war minister Benny Gantz in March 2024, IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi in November 2024, and IDF operations directorate chief Oded Bassiuk in January 2025.
