All attacks are wrong, Corbyn says on Palestine-Israeli conflict

SHAH ALAM - Former British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn known for his support for the Palestinian cause has pointed out that all attacks are wrong when asked to comment about the recent dispute in the occupied land.

He, however, did not give a straight answer when asked if he condemned the attack by Palestinian armed group Hamas on the Israelis over the weekend.

“Yesterday I sent out a statement calling for a ceasefire, calling for peace and calling for an end to the occupation of Palestine which of course if fundamentally the background to the whole issue.

“Obviously, all attacks are wrong,” he said when asked by Channel 4 News’ reporter in the UK.

As Corbyn stressed that he had made his point very clear, the reporter argued that he had not and proceeded to ask further questions.

“Wait a minute, you love interrupting people when they are trying to answer your question don’t you?

“Now to say for the third time then, yesterday I sent out a statement which made it very clear I wanted peace I wanted a ceasefire and I wanted a process which ended the Israeli occupation of Palestine which is fundamental to it.

“I do not support any attacks. Therefore, I criticise them all and that I think is the end of the matter. Thank you,” he said.

The reporter continued to ask if he condemned the attack but Corbyn was seen walking away.

Corbyn has always been vocal in his support of the Palestinian struggle, which eventually led to his downfall and his ongoing suspension as a member of parliament for the British Labour Party.

He claimed that ever since he ran to become Labour leader in 2015, he faced ‘powerful forces’ and named Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as one of them.

He had also stood by his belief that ‘any form of racism has to be opposed’ including anti-semitism.

Prior to this, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was ‘shocked’ by the attacks and said that ‘Israel has an absolute right to defend itself’.

"As the barbarity of today's atrocities becomes clearer, we stand unequivocally with Israel.

"This attack by Hamas is cowardly and depraved,” he wrote in a post on X.

On Saturday, a large-scale attack by Gaza militants on Israel on Saturday has left hundreds of Israelis dead, prompting a a lethal volley of retaliatory Israeli airstrikes and a formal declaration of war on Sunday.

The fierce battles that followed have killed more than 1,000 people – including at least 400 in Gaza – and wounded thousands on both sides.

Gaza had been under debilitating siege for 16 years, which took a heavy toll on its people.

The blockade was imposed after Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative Council elections in 2006, but its Palestinian rival, Fatah, along with Israel and its backers conspired to prevent it from taking power.

After several months of fighting, Hamas took full control of Gaza in June 2007, for which Israel and its partners decided to collectively punish the Palestinians living there.

Despite heavy criticism by the Western world including an array of Hollywood stars on Palestine and Hammas, many human rights advocates around the world have voiced out their support the Palestinian people and argued that it was their right to resist, stating that context over the past decades was vital when it comes to the issue of Palestine-Israel relations.