JEREMY Corbyn has claimed he was once asked to give a “blanket undertaking” that he would automatically support any military action Israel undertakes while Labour leader.
Corbyn – who is running as an independent candidate at the General Election – said during an interview with Declassified UK co-founder Matt Kennard that he was confronted with the request at an “extremely hostile” meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party Committee and declined.
He said: “During one extremely hostile meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party Committee they confronted me and said will you give a blanket undertaking that you, as party leader and potentially prime minister, will automatically support any military action Israel undertakes?
"And I said no, I will give no such undertaking, because the issue of Palestine has to be resolved and Palestinian people do not deserve to live under occupation, and the siege of Gaza has created such incredible stress.
“By the way I’ve been there on nine occasions in Israel, Palestine and the West Bank.”
Jeremy Corbyn says during a meeting with the Parliamentary Labour Party Committee he was confronted and asked to give assurances that as Labour leader - and potentially prime minister - he would automatically support any military action Israel undertakes👇 pic.twitter.com/RIN13HkHpF
— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) June 20, 2024
Corbyn is standing as an independent candidate in Islington North after being expelled from Keir Starmer’s party.
He had been suspended by Labour since 2020 after he refused to fully accept the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s findings that the party broke equality law when he was in charge and said antisemitism had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons”.
Corbyn has been a prolific campaigner for Palestine and has hit out at the UK Government for continuing to supply arms to Israel.
In an interview with The National earlier this year, he said he wished he “understood” Britain and America’s seemingly unflinching support for Israel.
Corbyn went on to say he was shocked at the remarks made to him which seemed “to undermine the whole principle of international law”.
“When the Israeli forces started attacking Gaza after October 7, October 7 was wrong and the response of killing tens of thousands of people doesn’t bring anybody back and has created the hatred and the wars of tomorrow and the year after and the year after,” he added.
“So was I surprised at this support for Israel? No, because the pressure of Israel on the Israeli government, on the Labour Party, is huge.
“But then again there’s also some wonderful people in Israel who very bravely oppose what their government is doing and oppose the occupation. But I was absolutely shocked when remarks were made which appear to me to undermine the whole principle of international law. The bombing of civilian targets is a war crime.”
Earlier this week, ex-first minister Humza Yousaf put forward a motion in the Scottish Parliament urging the UK to recognise Palestine as an independent state.
It notes that several European states, including Ireland and Spain, have already recognised Palestine as a sovereign state, and says that it is necessary for the successful implementation of a two-state solution.
Scottish Labour did not directly address a question from The National asking whether party MSPs would be required to support the measure, and did not respond to a follow-up email.
