Pro-Israel groups attack UK Labour MP over pro-Palestine stance on Gaza genocide

UK Labour MP Diane Abbott is once again facing coordinated calls for disciplinary action, this time over her outspoken condemnation of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, in a move critics say is part of a wider campaign to silence pro-Palestinian voices in British politics.

In a post shared on Tuesday, the veteran MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington denounced the killing of Palestinians seeking aid, using the hashtag #GazaGenocide.

Reacting to a quote from American journalist Chris Hedges, Abbott wrote that Israeli forces "continue to slaughter unarmed Palestinians in cold blood".

The post, now deleted, drew immediate fire from pro-Israel groups. The Board of Deputies called for her to be stripped of the Labour whip, accusing her of a "long line of anti-Jewish offences", a claim critics see as part of an increasingly familiar tactic of conflating criticism of Israel's actions with "antisemitism".

Russell Langer of the Jewish Leadership Council echoed the attack, describing Abbott's comments as "grossly offensive" and demanding party sanctions. These calls come despite Abbott’s long history of standing against racism and advocating for human rights.

The smear campaign comes amid continued Israeli bombardment of Gaza. On Wednesday alone, 142 Palestinians were killed and nearly 500 injured, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Among the victims was Marwan al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza City, killed along with his family in an Israeli strike.

Abbott has consistently spoken out against Israel’s devastating military campaign and has stood in solidarity with pro-Palestinian campaigners across the UK.

Earlier in June, she backed Oxford University students facing disciplinary measures for staging a sit-in protest against Israel’s war on Gaza.

In a letter defending the protesters, the former shadow home secretary warned that punishing peaceful activism undermines core democratic values like free expression and academic freedom.

Abbott, Britain's first Black woman MP, has often been the target of abuse and political attacks.

Last year, she denounced the Conservative Party’s failure to return a £10 million donation from businessman Frank Hester, who reportedly said she made him "want to hate all Black women" and should be "shot". Abbott called the party’s refusal to act "shocking" and evidence of institutional racism.