An Irish Member of the European Parliament who previously condemned Israel as “genocidal” has said it is “laughable” that those calling for arms to Ukraine do not support arms being supplied to Palestine.

Clare Daly MEP voted against an October 5 resolution condemning an escalation of Russia’s war effort.

The motion followed a debate on “illegal and illegitimate” referendums used as a pretext by Russia to annex four eastern regions of Ukraine.

Addressing the European parliament, Ms Daly said: “This house should be ashamed of this debate. Words are being twisted, meanings subverted and the truth turned on its head. 

“Opposing the horrible madness of war is not anti-European, it's not anti-Ukrainian, it's not pro-Russian: it's common sense. 

“The working class of Europe have nothing to gain from this war and everything to lose, and I find it laughable that those calling for arms to Ukraine never call for arms for the people of Palestine, or for the people of Yemen. 

“Unlike you I oppose all war. I want it stopped, I make no apology for that and I'm not going to be scapegoated or labelled for it either.”

While Ms Daly and fellow Independents 4 Change representative Mick Wallace voted against the resolution on "Russia's escalation of its war of aggression against Ukraine” motion, the pair did support some of its constituent paragraphs. 

These included a line condemning "illegal and illegitimate… sham referendums conducted at gunpoint to annex the oblasts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia”.

The hard left MEPs voted against a paragraph that called for member states to: "massively increase their military assistance, particularly in the areas where it is requested by the Ukrainian Government, in order to allow Ukraine to regain full control over its entire internationally recognised territory and successfully defend itself against any further aggression by Russia.”

Ms Daly, a former councillor and member of the Dail from County Kildare, who was first elected to the European Parliament in 2019.

In 2021, she travelled to Iraq alongside Mr Wallace to visit a brigade headquarters of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, an Iraqi militia group supported by Iran.

The same year, the MEP tweeted: “Israel is a despicable, genocidal rogue state whose war crimes are endlessly enabled by the #US & #EU. As civilians trapped in #Gaza are massacred AGAIN, the EU must sever links & end all support to Israel NOW.”

In January 2022, Ms Daly said the build up of over 100,000 Russian troops on Ukraine’s border was "clearly defensive".

There is “no evidence that Russia has any desire to invade Ukraine, it would be of no benefit to them,” she added.

Clare Daly MEP has been contacted for comment.