Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on the platform during the Labour Party's annual conference at the Arena and Convention Centre (ACC), in Liverpool. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on the platform during the Labour Party’s annual conference at the Arena and Convention Centre (ACC), in Liverpool. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo.

 

London –  Britain’s main opposition Labour Party has passed a motion strongly criticizing Israel, as a senior lawmaker warned the party must root out anti-Semitism.

Delegates at the party’s conference voted Tuesday to criticize Israel’s use of force against Gaza protests, urge more U.K. funding for the U.N. agency for Palestinians and back a freeze on British arms sales to Israel.

The vote came after a heated debate that saw Palestinian flags waved in the convention hall.

Labour has been riven by allegations that the party has become hostile to Jews under leader Jeremy Corbyn, a longtime supporter of Palestinians.

Foreign-affairs spokeswoman Emily Thornberry said Labour must kick out “sickening individuals … who use our legitimate support for Palestine as a cloak and a cover for their despicable hatred of Jewish people.”

As reported by Vos Iz Neias