Tayab Ali claims ‘far-Right dogma’ led ‘directly’ to Hamas’s actions
Israel was blamed for the Oct 7 terror attacks during a fringe event at the Liberal Democrat party conference on Sunday.
Tayab Ali claimed Israel’s “far-Right dogma” and actions in the West Bank “led directly” to Hamas’s massacre of around 1,200 Israelis almost a year ago.
Mr Ali, a lawyer and the director of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, told party activists about a speech he gave about Israel and the Palestinian territories days after the killings.
“People recommended [and] suggested, helpfully, that it shouldn’t happen so close to Oct 7. I thought it was really important to give that speech,” he said.
“I wanted to explain two things in that speech – how Israel’s decades-long belligerent occupation, combined with this new far-Right dogma, led directly to the explosion of violence on Oct 7.”
Mr Ali argued the conflict was “not complicated”, adding: “It wasn’t complicated before Oct 7, it’s not complicated today and it’s not complicated going forward.
“It only becomes complicated if we’re beholden to Israel’s powerful lobbying machine, and not only beholden to it but also compelled to believe it, for some reason.”
Citing a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel illegally annexed swathes of Palestinian land through its settlement policy, he accused Israel of “apartheid”.
“If you accuse Israel of being an apartheid state, you’re automatically accused of being anti-Semitic,” Mr Ali added.
“It is right and proper to point a finger at Israel and say Israel participates in apartheid.”
The Telegraph understands Mr Ali is not a member of the Liberal Democrats.
Speaking on the same panel, Husam Zomlot, the head of the Palestinian mission to the UK, accused Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israeli government of “genocidal aggression and violence”.
Demanding the immediate recognition of Palestine by the UK, Mr Zomlot said: “The UK, of course, also has a historic responsibility here. It does.
“It was the British Empire that started this entire issue in the first place, giving away our land without even consulting us. It is the UK that needs to own this responsibility.
“This is not about guilt or blame, it’s about responsibility. It’s about leadership and statesmanship, and acting to rectify that injustice that was inflicted on the Palestinian people in 1917.”
Immediate ceasefire
The 1917 Balfour Declaration led to British rule of Palestine, as well as laying the foundations for the modern state of Israel.
Mr Zomlot also praised the Liberal Democrats for having demanded an immediate end to hostilities between Israel and Hamas long before Labour or the Conservatives.
Fringe events at political party conferences take place separately from the main agenda, and while party chiefs sign off the meetings, they have no control over their contents.
The Liberal Democrats have been calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas since November, as well as urging the Government to end all arms sales to Israel.
Layla Moran, the party’s foreign affairs spokesman, is the first MP of Palestinian heritage and has said her ancestry gives her an “extraordinary responsibility”.
In July, she wrote to David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, saying a ceasefire was not enough and that a two-state solution is needed.
A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: “Like all party conferences our fringe events include external speakers whose views do not reflect the party’s policy.
“We have heard a range of views on all sides of this terrible conflict, including a speech on the conference floor from an Israeli peace activist who tragically lost his parents in the Oct 7 terrorist attacks.
“The Liberal Democrats are clear that we want to see an immediate bilateral ceasefire, to end the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, ensure the hostages are brought home and open the door to a two-state solution.”
Party sources said both Israel and Palestinian diplomats were present at the conference, and a large number of MPs had met families of Israeli hostages who were in attendance.
