An MP from the British Labour Party used Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as a pretext to denounce Israel.
According to the UK Jewish News, MP Julie Elliott said during a Thursday parliamentary debate: “We watch today as a European country faces war and occupation, and we stand with Ukraine in opposing Russian aggression.”
She added: “We rightly talk about international law, and I listened to the Minister for Asia and the Middle East [Amanda Milling] speak only a few minutes ago about the vital importance of the sovereignty of states, but how must Palestinians feel when they hear that? They have endured 54 years of occupation, which in itself is an aggression.”
Conservative MP Stephen Crabb blasted Elliott for a statement that was “historically wrong, factually wrong and morally wrong.”
Crabb, the chair of Conservative Friends of Israel, described Elliott’s comparison as doing “a huge disservice not just to the people of Ukraine but also to the people of Palestine and the people of Israel as well, who face a unique situation and set of challenges.”
In response, Elliott insisted she was “talking about upholding international law” which she said was “as relevant to Ukraine as it is to Palestine.”
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)