A fiery row broke out on Dewbs & Co as Dawn Neesom accused fellow panellist James Schneider of “making excuses for Hamas”.
Schneider, who was previously an adviser to ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, was asked by GB News host Bev Turner whether his former boss delivered a “sufficient” response to Hamas’s terror attack in Israel.
A rise in antisemitic abuse in the Labour Party during Jeremy Corbyn’s years of power from 2015-2019 has put the former leader back at the forefront.
Speaking at the Labour conference in Liverpool, Corbyn told journalists that “all attacks are wrong” in a failure to condemn Hamas.
James Schneider and Dawn Neesom were embroiled in a tense debate
GB NEWS
Schneider said that Corbyn can “speak for himself”, on the matter, but added how he personally has responded to the attack.
“It is easy to condemn atrocities we have nothing to do with”, he said.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
- 'SECOND HOLOCAUST': UK relatives of captives describe how Israeli girls were 'raped over their friends bodies' as they demand release
- Fears surge as ex-Hamas leader calls for Muslim world to mobilise for 'global day of jihad' against Israel
- William and Kate go further than Charles ‘unusual to see senior royals venture into political territory’
“It is much more difficult to oppose crimes we are committed to, and we are much more connected to the war crimes being carried out now by the Israeli state on the Palestinian people, and our Government is supporting them with military support.”
Asked if war crimes are taking place “right now”, Schneider passionately asserted: “War crimes are happening at this very moment.
“This is extremely important, under international law, collective punishment is a war crime.
“What they have done is to collectively punish 2.3 million people, half of whom are children, for Hamas’s atrocities. That is a war crime by definition. That is even without the indiscriminate bombing.”
The discussion sparked passionate responses from across the panel
GB NEWS
Ex-Daily Star Editor Dawn Neesom waded in to suggest Schneider was “making excuses for Hamas”, kicking off a tense discussion in the process.
Schneider insisted he was “not making excuses”, arguing people are “making excuses for these crimes on the basis of other crimes”.
Neesom snapped back: “I can’t get my head around Hamas’s atrocities, the murders and there is even a ‘but’ to this, there is no ‘but’ to this, two wrongs don’t make a right.”
Schneider said: “Of course two wrongs don’t make a right, this is precisely the argument being made by our Government by saying Israel has ‘every right to defend themselves’.
“You have no right whatsoever to commit war crimes to other people.”
Corbyn’s successor, Sir Keir Starmer, further distanced himself from the left-winger by denouncing Hamas’s “senseless” killings in Israel and backing the Israeli government.
He said he has been “shocked and appalled by events in Israel”, which was attacked by Hamas on Saturday, and was met with loud applause as he reiterated his support for Israel’s right to respond.
“I utterly condemn the senseless murder of men, women and children – including British citizens – in cold blood by the terrorists of Hamas,” Sir Keir said.
“This party believes in the two-state solution – a Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel.
“But this action by Hamas does nothing for Palestinians and Israel must always have the right to defend her people.
“And conference, these events, the war in Ukraine, they show precisely the test of our era. The world is becoming a more volatile place.”