Liberal Democrat Tayab Ali blames Israeli policies for Oct. 7 Massacre at party fringe event

Liberal Democrat Tayab Ali argued that Israel’s right-wing policies in the West Bank “led directly” to the October 7 Massacre, the Telegraph reported on Sunday.

During a fringe party event, Ali, who is a lawyer and International Center of Justice for Palestinians Director, recalled to the audience a past speech he made following Hamas’s invasion on October 7, emphasizing “how Israel’s decades-long belligerent occupation, combined with this new far-Right dogma, led directly to the explosion of violence on October 7.”

He further explained that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “not complicated,” neither before nor after Hamas’s invasion which triggered the Israel-Hamas War, and that “it’s not complicated going forward.”

Ali then stressed that the conflict becomes “complicated” once “Israel’s powerful lobbying machine,” is taken into consideration, the Telegraph noted in their report.

'Historic responsibility' to recognize Palestine

He then accused Israel of systematic segregation against Arabs in Israel, citing previous rulings made by the International Court of Justice, stating Israel has illegally annexed lands considered to be owned by Palestinians. He then emphasized that one cannot safely accuse Israel of apartheid, as, “you’re automatically accused of being antisemitic.”

In addition to Ali, Head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK Husam Zomlot accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “genocidal aggression and violence” against the Palestinian people.

Zomlot expanded on his accusations, claiming it was the UK’s “historic responsibility” to immediately recognize the Palestinian state since “it was the British Empire that started this entire issue in the first place, giving away our land without even consulting us,” according to the Telegraph.

Fringe events, such as the one in which both Ali and Zomlot spoke, at political party conferences occur independently of the main agenda. Although party leaders approve these meetings, they do not oversee their content.