A Liberal Democrat MP is facing disciplinary action for saying he would probably fire a rocket into Israel if he lived in Gaza – a year after being temporarily suspended by the party for remarks on the same subject.
The Liberal Democrats said the party “utterly condemns” comments made by David Ward, their MP for Bradford East, after a tweet appeared on his feed saying: “The big question is – if I lived in #Gaza would I fire a rocket? – probably yes.”
He added: “Ich bin ein #palestinian – the West must make up its mind – which side is it on?”
The remarks were immediately condemned by some fellow MPs, including Tory chairman Grant Shapps, who said the remarks were an “incitement to violence” and “completely irresponsible”.
A Liberal Democrat spokesman said Ward would be subject to disciplinary proceedings.
“Nick Clegg has been at the forefront of calling for peace in Israel and Gaza,” he said. “We utterly condemn David Ward’s comments, they are not representative of the Liberal Democrats. “The party takes this matter very seriously and will treat it as a disciplinary issue.”
Ward was previously suspended by the party in July last year after questioning the continuing existence of the state of Israel and refusing to apologise for his remarks.
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“Am I wrong or are am I right? At long last the Zionists are losing the battle – how long can the apartheid State of Israel last?” he tweeted at the time.
He had the whip withdrawn for two months after a series of rows with the party’s most senior members over his views on Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians.
However, despite official criticism from the Lib Dems David Ward has received considerable support on social media for his views with many hailing him for “telling the truth” about the Palestinians’ right to resist.
Others have said it is perverse that he is being criticised and disciplined as Israel is currently pulverising Gaza with huge loss of innocent life and damage to civilian infrastructure.
Defiant
Moreover, Ward has remained defiant, telling BBC Radio 5 Live that he had done nothing wrong.
“The comment was about understanding why people are firing rockets,” he said. “I am not condoning that. In fact, yesterday in the House of Commons I condemned it. I’m saying I understand why people are so desperate that they are doing it.
“Why are they firing the rockets? When the rockets are fired, they’re done by people who know what is going to happen, the repercussions of that, this horrendous military force that Israel have will result in further Palestinian [casualties]. Why are they doing that? The answer is they are so desperate to retaliate for what is happening to them … The people in Gaza cannot escape; they are hemmed in by land, sea and air. They can’t be refugee, they can’t flee…
“What I’m saying is I understand the plight of the people who are firing the rockets. As I say, I condemned it in the House of Commons only yesterday – nobody seems to be mentioning that.”
