WATCH: Jeremy Corbyn compares Israeli actions in West Bank to apartheid
2 min read
Jeremy Corbyn has been criticised after it was revealed he once compared Israeli actions in Palestine to apartheid-era South Africa.
The Labour leader spoke out during an Al Quds Day speech in London in 2012 in which he also called for the EU to cut off trade links with Israel.
Mr Corbyn said: "If you go onto the Mount of Olives and look out across onto the Jericho valley, ten years ago you saw fields and the occasional forest and Bedouin living peaceably.
"Then you saw construction sites, then you saw camps, then you saw roads, then you saw occupation, then you saw apartheid being introduced all over the West Bank of Palestine."
He added: "We make demands of no arms supplies to Israel, we make demands of a suspension of EU-Israel trade agreement, we make demands of the release of political prisoners, we make demands of the release of the elected parliamentarians of the Palestinian state."
Joan Ryan MP, chair of Labour Friends of Israel, said: "It's sadly unsurprising to see Jeremy Corbyn deploy the highly offensive and totally inaccurate apartheid slur against Israel, nor is it a surprise to see his obsession with the world's only Jewish state once again on display.
"Despite his oft-stated claims to be a peace-maker, Mr Corbyn's only real interest appears to be attacking Israel and justifying the actions of its enemies."
A Labour party spokesperson said: "Jeremy has a long and principled record of solidarity with the Palestinian people and opposition to illegal occupation and discrimination."
The latest row comes after Labour general secretary Jennie Formby revealed the party had expelled 12 members for anti-semitism after receiving nearly 700 complaints over the past 10 months.
But at an angry meeting on Monday night, the Parliamentary Labour Party accused party bosses of covering up the full extent of the problem by not releasing all the data they hold.
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