An independent pro-Gaza MP has come under fire for advertising a controversial motion that appeared to equate the hostages abducted by Hamas with Palestinians held in Israeli prisons on Holocaust Memorial Day.
Ayoub Khan, who represents Birmingham Perry Barr, emailed MPs yesterday to solicit support for his Early Day Motion (EDM) 695.
The motion expresses “deep concern regarding the efforts of Israeli coalition and opposition politicians to oust MK Ayman Odeh from the Knesset”.
Odeh, an Arab-Israeli and member of the leftist Hadash Party, sparked a backlash in the wake of the hostage and prisoner releases by calling on negotiators to “free both peoples from the burden of occupation”.
Critics from both government and opposition parties in Israel have accused him of being “Hamas’ spokesperson in the Knesset” and called for his removal from the legislature.
The text of the EDM then appears to equate between Israeli hostages seized by Hamas on October 7 and Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, some of whom have been convicted of severe terrorism offences.
The motion says it “joins Odeh in welcoming the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal which enabled the exchange of Israeli and Palestinian hostages and abductees” and goes on to call on the Government “to vehemently oppose any efforts by Israeli parliamentarians to further solidify an ethnocratic, apartheid state, and deny the Palestinian population’s right to self-determination”.
At time of writing, the motion has attracted just three signatures – Khan himself, the SNP’s Chris Law and Colum Eastwood of Northern Ireland’s SDLP.
But a Labour MP who received Khan’s email slammed the motion as “disgusting” and “shameful”.
The parliamentarian, who asked to remain anonymous, told the JC: "There is no equivalent between innocent hostages who have been held by Hamas for over a year and those terrorists like Mohammad Odeh [no relation to Ayman Odeh] who orchestrated the bombing of a pool hall in 2002 that killed 15 innocent people.”
They continued: “It's a disgusting comparison made worse that it has been emailed around on Holocaust Memorial Day. This is a shameful day for Parliament."
Another Labour MP, Peter Prinsley, also took issue with the text of the motion.
He told the JC that Israel was “not an apartheid state and the Palestinians in Israeli jails are not hostages.”
Last week, Ayman Odeh expressed sorrow that hostage family members were hurt by his remarks, but appeared to double down on the comments.
Writing on X, he said: “My perspective as a Palestinian citizen of Israel probably differs from the perspective of many Jewish citizens of Israel. While it is clear that many of you tend to see primarily the Jewish suffering, I see and feel the suffering of both peoples … This is simply the reality, not just mine, but of all Arabs living in this country.”
It comes after another independent pro-Gaza MP, Iqbal Mohamed, was criticised for making a similar comparison between the hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
The Dewsbury and Batley MP said at Prime Minister’s Questions: “let's all pray for (sic) the remaining hostages on both sides are released as soon as possible”, which prompted disquiet from other MPs in the House of Commons chamber.
Asked after PMQs if the Prime Minister shared Mohamed’s assessment, a Downing Street spokesperson replied: “No, absolutely not.”
Nearly 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons are due to be released as part of the fragile, multi-phased ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in exchange for the 89 hostages remaining in Gaza.
Among those scheduled for release are Mahmud Abu Warda, who is serving 48 life sentences for planning and executing multiple terror attacks, including the 1996 murder of 45 Israelis in two bus bombings in Jerusalem.
Likewise, Wissam Abbasi, Mohammad Odeh, and Wael Qassim of the so-called Silwan Squadron, jailed in 2002 in connection to a string of bombings that killed over 30 Israelis in crowded civilian areas of Jerusalem during the Second Intifada, are due to be let out.
The JC has contacted Ayoub Khan MP for comment.
