Labour MP claims Dome of the Rock is part of Israel

UK Labour MP, Christian Wakeford, has come under fire for promoting anti-Palestinian falsehood peddled by Israel’s far-right ultranationalists in a tweet where he claimed that the Dome of the Rock, one of Islam’s holiest sites, is part of Israel.

The Dome of the Rock is in Occupied Palestinian Territory under international law. The international community – including Britain – recognises East Jerusalem’s status as Israeli occupied land. Ultranationalist and religious extremists who dominate the Israeli government consider occupied Jerusalem as belonging to the apartheid state and view Jewish reclamation of the Dome of the Rock – which lies with the grounds of Al-Aqsa Mosque – central to their messianic ideology.

Wakeford, who was elected as a Conservative but defected to Labour in 2022, made the controversial claim during a recent parliamentary delegation to the occupied West Bank organised by Labour Friends of Israel (LFI).

READ: British Labour MP brands Israeli government fascist

Though only five Labour MPs took part in the delegation to the apartheid state, Jewish News described it as LFI’s “biggest delegation in over a decade to Israel.” The Labour MPs included Dame Margaret Hodge, Catherine McKinnell, Taiwo Owatemi, Christian Wakeford and Alex Davies-Jones. The sixth person, James Frith, is a former MP for Bury North.

Wakeford shared photos of the delegation’s visit to the Dome of the Rock on Twitter. I am pleased to be back in Israel as part of an @_LFI delegation,” said the Bury South MP. The tweet was deleted but screenshots of his comment peddling the anti-Palestinian views of far-right Israeli extremists were shared on the social media platform.

Labour MP claims Dome of the Rock is part of Israel

Joseph Willits, who works for the Council for Arab-British Understanding, slammed Wakeford for his comment. “Palestinians shouldn’t have to put up with such denial & erasure. Similarly if this was Crimea labelled Russia & not Ukraine,” said Willits sharing an image of Wakeford’s deleted tweet and called for the Labour MP to issue an apology.

Wakeford blocked Willits after being called out on his anti-Palestinian tweet. “MPs who contribute to the erasure of Palestinians and denial of their lived experiences don’t like to be called out for erasing Palestinians or denying their lived experiences,” Willits said after being blocked by the Labour MP.

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