A former Tory minister who is under investigation by his party is facing fresh criticism for his latest comments about Israel.
Sir Alan Duncan has been accused of “all but blaming” the country for the 7 October Hamas attacks that killed around 1,200 people.
Politics Live: Duncan hits back after investigation
The ex-foreign office minister, who is under investigation over separate comments, told Sky News that “the cause and origin” of the attacks “emanates from them (Israel)”.
Calling for the UK to suspend arms sales to Israel, he said: “The Hamas attack was a response to years of difficulty in Gaza, but more importantly, the continuing annexation, illegally, by Israel of the West Bank.”
Challenged by Sky’s political correspondent Rob Powell that he is coming “very close” to blaming Israel for what happened on 7 October, he said: “Well, over time, one can say that the cause and the origin emanates from them.”
He added: “I condemn the nature of the Hamas attacks. I condemn anti-semitism. I condemn those who say that Israel should not exist. But I equally condemn Israeli excess and illegal expansion into the West Bank by taking another country’s land.”
It comes after the Conservative party confirmed Sir Alan, who sat as an MP between 1992 and 2019, is being investigated by the Tory party over comments he made to LBC earlier on Thursday.
In the interview, he claimed colleagues who support Israel are “exercising the interests of another country”, naming individuals including Lord Stuart Polak, the honorary president of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), and Lord Eric Pickles, who is chair of the group in the Lords.
