‘Israel uses the Holocaust to justify murdering Palestinians’, Gerald Kaufman tells Parliament

Sir Gerald said the UK government’s decision to back a UN resolution, based on a report that condemned Israel’s actions in last summer’s Gaza war, was “not enough”.

Read: The real reason Britain voted against Israel at the UN

He said: “We have to take action. We have to impose an arms ban and economic sanctions on these murderers, who live a first-world life courtesy of America and the European Union. The Palestinians are a persecuted people and it is time that that persecution was brought to an end. We will not rest until the Palestinians are free.”

Matthew Offord, MP for Hendon, the constituency which has the country’s second largest number of Jewish residents, said the comments were “despicable and disgusting”.

Tory Dr Offord said: “We should bear in mind that the UN has a long history of criticising Israel, more than it has any other country in the world — so much so that many of us feel that its criticisms are no longer legitimate.

“In 2004, the UN General Assembly adopted 20 resolutions singling out Israel for criticism, but only three for the rest of the world combined. The Human Rights Council’s members include Qatar and Saudi Arabia—countries that perform human rights violations against their own people. We know that those things happen.”

He added: “Israel has a right to exist. It is constantly under attack—that seems to be forgotten by the UN Human Rights Council and some members here this afternoon.

“None of us rejoices in the deaths of any human being, but to claim that any country kills people as a result of the Holocaust is not only despicable and disgusting, but disrespectful to the House.”

A long-standing critic of Israel, in 2011 Sir Gerald, who is Jewish, was heavily criticised following a jibe he made in the Commons when fellow Jewish Labour MP Louise Ellman rose to speak.

He muttered: “Here we are, the Jews again.” It led to a furious row. He first said he could not remember making the comment, before saying he was sorry if he had caused offence.

During Wednesday's debate, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Minister Kerry McCarthy encouraged the government to investigate the future possibility of restricting arms sales to Israel.

She said Britain should have done more to question the “proportionality, the legality and the morality of Israel’s use of force”.

There should be a review of arms export licences and sales to Israel, Ms McCarthy said with consideration made of a possible “case-by-case arms embargo”.

Ms McCarthy reiterated Labour’s criticism of Israel last summer under the then leadership of Ed Miliband.

Middle East Minister Tobias Ellwood said: “The commission of inquiry report calls on all parties to fully respect the main principles of international humanitarian law and international human rights law —distinction, proportionality and precaution—and to establish credible, effective, transparent and independent accountability mechanisms promptly. We echo those calls.

“Where there is evidence of wrongdoing by either party, those responsible must be held accountable.”