Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the U.K.’s opposition Labour Party, defended his decision not to condemn Hamas in the wake of deadly attacks on Israel by the Palestinian militant group.
Corbyn — who led the party from 2015-2019 but is no longer allowed to sit as a Labour MP — drew flak over the weekend after issuing a statement which did not directly condemn the Hamas militants who killed hundreds of Israelis and took numerous captives in the latest round of bloodshed.
The row has once again demonstrated splits on Middle East policy in Labour, which hopes to form the next British government.
In his weekend statement, posted on Twitter, Corbyn described events in Israel and Palestine as “deeply alarming,” and called for “an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation.”
Referencing Israel’s long-running blockade of Gaza, Corbyn said “ending the occupation is the only means of achieving a just and lasting peace.”
That prompted immediate criticism from Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, who attacked Corbyn for once describing Hamas representatives as his “friends” — and said the militant group was “murdering children and taking civilian hostages.”
Conservative Party chairman Greg Hands stepped up the attack, writing to Labour’s current leader, Keir Starmer, and urging him to take action against Corbyn, who has already been booted out of the party over an earlier row.
But, speaking on the fringes of Labour’s conference Sunday night, Corbyn — a lifelong Palestinian rights campaigner who has launched a “Peace and Justice” project since leaving post — sought to justify his stance.
“You don’t just condemn, as I do, any acts of violence anywhere around the world,” he told an event organized by the left-wing Momentum group.
“You look at the causes as well, you look at the causes of the wars … in Yemen, in Ukraine, and the current terrible situation in Israel and Palestine. The way to end that, I think, is to end the occupation in Palestine, by Israel.”
Lammy: Never a justification for terror
The comments from Labour’s former leader drew a sharp contrast with the official line from the party.
Addressing the Liverpool conference on Monday morning, Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Labour “utterly condemns Hamas’s appalling attack on Israel.”
He added: “There is never, never a justification for terrorism. Labour stands firmly in support of Israel’s right to defend itself, rescue hostages and protect its civilians.”
While rowing in firmly behind Israel Lammy said Labour would “not surrender the hope of two states living side-by-side.”
Since becoming Labour leader, Starmer has tried to signal a radical break with Corbyn’s time at the top.
Starmer removed the Labour whip from Corbyn over his response to a damning report on the party’s handling of antisemitism complaints.
And he sacked his one-time leadership rival, Rebecca Long-Bailey, after she shared an article containing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
