'The world needs to see this image,' wrote the 26-year-old, who has not removed it since it was revealed Hamas was responsible
May 7, 2019 08:29
Jeremy Corbyn's son has sparked a huge backlash for posting a picture of the dead Palestinian child on Twitter, claiming she was "murdered... by an Israeli air strike on Gaza" and then doing nothing when this turned out to be false.
“The world needs to see this image,” wrote Tommy Corbyn, 26, as he seized on reports of the death of a pregnant Palestinian mother and her 14-month-old niece, adding: “The world needs to get angry about this image.”
The two died during 48 hours of clashes between Palestinian militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad and the IDF over the weekend and their deaths were initially blamed by many on Israel.
The Monday edition of the far-left Morning Star newspaper also rushed to blame Israel for the deaths of the mother and her child placing the story on their front page.
But it emerged that they were killed by a misfired Hamas rocket.
By the early hours of Sunday, the Gaza News Agency, which is deeply critical of Israeli actions, was among those reporting this, saying the "pregnant mother and baby were killed by Hamas rocket - not Zionist."
We cry for your children as you must cry for ours. Pregnant mother and baby were killed by Hamas rocket - not Zionist. The hate and bullets must end.
— Gaza News Agency (@GazaNewsAgency) May 5, 2019
Do not be angry with Gazans, we are held hostage by #Hamas and #Iran. We want our land in #Palestine shared with Jew in #peace.
The IDF also disputed killing the pair, tweeting: “Yesterday, Palestinian weapons caused the tragic death of a mother in Gaza and her baby.
"Hamas blamed Israel. Journalists amplified the lie. Our assessment indicates that the incident had nothing to do with IDF strikes."
Yesterday, Palestinian weapons caused the tragic death of a mother in Gaza and her baby. Hamas blamed Israel. Journalists amplified the lie. Our assessment indicates that the incident had nothing to do with IDF strikes.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 5, 2019
Tommy Corbyn's Twitter account was immediately bombarded with messages demanding he take down his tweet.
But he did not apologise and instead posted a further tweet from rapper Lowkey which attempted to dismiss the firing of over 650 rockets by Palestine militants into Israel as a cause of the latest violence.
As a student, Tommy Corbyn was a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, regularly staging events to raise money for campaigns for the region.
Last year he was dragged into a row when he posted a cartoon, which showed people being crushed by an arm branded with the Star of David, to his Facebook and then allowed it to remain.
After two days of violence in Gaza, Egyptian mediation appeared to have agreed a ceasefire.
On Monday, the Board of Deputies condemned the appearance of posters on some London bus-stops which stated: “Israel’s Killing Children Again. Enjoy Your Weekend.”
These nasty & illegal posters were raised with us earlier today. We spoke to @MayorofLondon’s office who assured us they would be removed. A number have been already. If you see more please let us know locations & we will work with City Hall & @JCDecaux_UK to get them removed. pic.twitter.com/Ts56oxVH6R
— Board of Deputies of British Jews (@BoardofDeputies) May 6, 2019
In a statement, the Board confirmed they had spoken to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s office “who assured us they would be removed.”
