A HOME Office minister is facing fury after accusing Jeremy Corbyn of using antisemitic language after the former Labour leader condemned the building of illegal Israeli settlements across the West Bank.
The exchange between Hamish Falconer and Corbyn came after the Labour minister made a statement in the Commons to address the E1 settlement zone plan being pursued by Israel, which would allegedly make a contiguous Palestinian state near impossible.
Corbyn described the UK's response as "shocking and disgraceful", adding: "Baseless smears won’t change the truth: this government is complicit in apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide."
The so-called E1 project between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim would effectively cut off the West Bank from occupied East Jerusalem.
In the Commons, Corbyn said the focus on the West Bank area “is very important, but in reality, it is part of the greater Israel plan”.
Earlier this week, Israel's finance minister Bezalel Smotrich refreshed calls for the immediate establishment of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip’s northern perimeter, claiming nearly 70% of the Strip is already occupied by the Israeli military.
Corbyn cited Smotrich's figures, saying Israel “already control 70% of the Gaza Strip, squeezing the whole population into the sea or into Egypt”, and accused the Israeli state of backing “by military means all the activities of the settlers and their abominable behaviour towards Palestinian people and this construction of massive settlements all over the West Bank”.
“In reality,” Corbyn continued, “it is Israel's strategy, Israel's plan and Israel's determination we're up against. Merely condemning them for this occupation of E1 will achieve nothing. There has to be a policy of stopping all arms trade and military cooperation of any sort with Israel until they end this settlement policy.
"And anything less than that simply will be just hand-wringing that the Israeli government will just ignore.”
This is utterly absurd from Hamish Falconer. As Middle East Minister he has repeatedly failed to respond Israel’s crimes against Palestinians. To falsely imply Jeremy Corbyn’s statement here is anti-Semitic is shameful. pic.twitter.com/HlbItPwDWk
— Sangita Myska (@SangitaMyska) July 1, 2026
Falconer responded by stressing the need to "be really careful in our language" around antisemitism.
“I'd just like to say that I do not think that the policy of settlements is supported across the whole of Israel,” he said.
“That is very clear in the discussions about the elections that are coming. There are many voices in Israel who recognise the terrible harm being done to the state of Israel by the expansion of settlements.
“And I hope the honourable gentleman will forgive me, just to come back to the point about antisemitism, we must be really careful in our language.
"There are many, many Israelis and indeed many, many British Jews who can see the terrible damage done by violent settlements and we must not tar communities in this country or the whole nation of Israel with the same brush.”
Corbyn later wrote to Falconer, stating: "This was a shocking response, which wilfully misrepresents and distorts my words in a an attempt to avoid answering the question I had put to you.
"It was clear that I was commenting on the strategy, determinations and actions of the Israeli government in explaining illegal settlements and supporting the activities of settlers.
"In making the statement, I reflected the finding of various human rights organisations, including Amnesty International whose recent report found that 'settler violence is not an aberration but an integral part of an organised state policy'."
Journalist and broadcaster Sangita Myska also called out Falconer's response, branding it "shameful".
"This is utterly absurd from Hamish Falconer," she wrote on Twitter/X. "As Middle East Minister he has repeatedly failed to respond Israel’s crimes against Palestinians. To falsely imply Jeremy Corbyn’s statement here is antisemitic is shameful."
One replier noted that Falconer was the one who linked Jews to the illegal settlements, adding: "He was antisemitic by his own terms."
