A British Labour MP on Monday called in Parliament for “military action” against Israel, citing previous instances in which the UK has used force against alleged human rights abusers, then apologized for those remarks on Wednesday.

During a discussion on Gaza, MP Tahir Ali interrupted comments by Liberal Democratic MP Richard Foord on the need to disarm Hamas, saying, “On the issue of disarmament, should we not also be calling for Israel’s disarmament as well, given the atrocities that have been committed?”

Ali added, “Previous governments have intervened in the Middle East to take action to [combat] human rights abuses and protect international trade routes. Isn’t it about time that military action is taken against Israel also?”

Responding to Ali, Foord rejected the attempt to equate between Israel and the Hamas terror group, which, he noted, Britain designates as a “proscribed terrorist organization,” according to the Jewish Chronicle, a British publication.

Ali, a member of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s party, also suggested last year that British troops be sent to Gaza to combat Israel. Since 2019, he has represented a constituency in Birmingham, Britain’s second-largest city.

He doubled down on his recommendation of military force in a post on X on Tuesday.

“Previous Labour and Conservative governments have consistently justified military intervention across the Middle East, including in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Yemen, on the grounds of preventing human rights abuses and protecting vital trade routes,” he wrote. “​Is it not time, therefore, that we consider equivalent action to prevent what international bodies have identified as a plausible genocide,........

© The Times of Israel