George Galloway
George GallowayReuters

Notorious anti-Israel British MP George Galloway was hospitalized on Saturday after being assaulted in London.

Galloway, who leads the far-left Respect Party, was posing for pictures in the UK capital when he was punched repeatedly by an attacker, who apparently "made reference to the Holocaust", a spokesperson told the media.

The precise motive is not yet clear but police say they arrested a suspect, named as 39-year-old Neil Masterson of London, for religiously-aggravated assault, as well as common assault against a man who attempted to defend the radical MP.

The suspect is due to appear at Hammersmith Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Galloway's party posted a picture of him on its Twitter account following the beating and shortly before he was admitted to hospital with bruising to his head as well as a broken jaw and ribs.

Galloway was recently questioned by police over possible racial incitement after declaring his constituency in the northern English city of Bradford as an "Israeli-free zone".

The Scottish-born MP has faced allegations of racism and anti-Semitism before, including an incident in which he walked out of a debate when he found out his opponent was Israeli.

His suspected attacker is neither Jewish nor Israeli though; his Facebook profile describes him as a "Catholic".