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Green candidate compares Hamas to French resistance

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Israel was accused of building “concentration camps” at a meeting attended by a Labour MP and parliamentary candidates for Hammersmith and Fulham.

The event, a debate for Hammersmith and Fulham parliamentary candidates, was attended by Labour MP Andy Slaughter alongside Green candidate Rollo Miles and Lib Dem Merlene Emerson.

Green candidate Mr Miles accused Israel of running a “concentration camp” and compared Hamas terrorists to French resistance members fighting the Nazis.

Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey said he had "no interest in attending 'debates' organised by biased organisations whose very existence is to promote one view".

Mr Slaughter, a member of the Labour Friends of Palestine, has recently returned from Gaza. He spoke of his desire to “resist pressure from Israel” to alter the law on universal jurisdiction, which has been used to issue arrest warrants against Israeli politicians.

He also claimed Gaza’s resources were ‘exploited by Israeli settlers’ and condemned the long sentences given to those who rioted during the Gaza protests last year.

Mr Miles, the Green candidate went further, saying: “The way Palestinians are being treated by the Israelis, some say they are living in a ghetto. I like to be a bit more radical, I would say that the Israelis are running some of the biggest concentration camps in the world. Palestinians can’t get food, can’t get medical attention, can’t get building materials.

“The word ‘terrorism’ is mentioned a lot, but I will say the old cliché that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. If you look at the Second World War to the French resistance, they are heroes now but at the time they were terrorists.”

Rollo Miles of the Greeen party -speaking at the debate.

Video by Chris Underwood

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