The Foreign Secretary has been condemned by the Conservatives for “mislead[ing] Parliament”, after he was accused of misquoting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments on food aid to Gaza.
Speaking to a crowded House of Commons chamber last week, Lammy described the IDF’s new offensive in Gaza, stating: “Prime Minister Netanyahu says that they are going to take control of the Strip, letting only minimal amounts of food reach Gazans. Madam Deputy Speaker, I quote Mr Netanyahu – he says ‘just enough to prevent hunger’”.
However, the original video of Netanyahu speaking shows the Israeli Prime Minister saying something different, numerous native Hebrew speakers have told the Jewish News. They say that in the video Netanyahu describes how, until a new aid distribution system to bypass Hamas has been established, the current UN system would be used, stating that “we need to give some minimum, basic support so that there will be no hunger” – and they say that there is no ambiguity in Netanyahu’s remarks.
Eylon Levy, a former Israeli Government spokesperson, alleged that the “made-up quote” used by the Foreign Secretary had originated from “a BBC story which quotes a video from Netanyahu, explaining to his domestic audience why Israel was letting aid into Gaza again. So naturally, I went to the video…
“In a video, Netanyahu explained Israel was setting up a new aid distribution system to bypass Hamas, which is hijacking aid to fund its war. This will take time. So Israel will let in aid through the current mechanism ‘so that there will not be hunger’.
“Netanyahu never said Israel would let in ‘just enough [food] to prevent hunger.’ But David Lammy used that made-up quote to convince MPs to support his hostile foreign policy against Israel, which Hamas has praised.
“Lammy misled his fellow MPs. He misled Parliament.”
Levy continued by suggesting that perhaps “Lammy’s aides nicked the mistranslation from the BBC, instead of doing the professional thing and asking the British Embassy in Israel for a precise translation of Netanyahu’s remarks.”
Stuart Andrew MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said: “It is completely unacceptable for the Foreign Secretary to mislead Parliament based on a misquote from the BBC. He should be fully abreast of the facts before making any statement to the House.”
An FCDO spokesperson said: “The Foreign Secretary has been clear. The UK strongly opposes the expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza, and we have reaffirmed our calls for the Israeli Government to stop its military operations in Gaza and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter.
“We need to see an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages cruelly detained by Hamas, and a path to long-term peace and stability.”
