Galloway, who is known for his crude demeanour, channelled the words of the Iranian tyrant Mahmound Ahmadinejad, stating that, "Israel is a cancer at the heart of the middle-east".
It was reported last year that Iran’s president said that Israel was an “insult to humanity” and “a cancerous tumor” and called for “a new Middle East with no trace of Americans or Zionists”. The remarks were widely condemned by the international community, only to be repeated a day later by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said: "The great powers have dominated the destiny of the Islamic countries for years and… installed the Zionist cancerous tumour in the heart of the Islamic world."
Galloway's comments being so closely linked to that of the Iranian leadership will come as little surprise to some, given the Member of Parliament's fawning over Ahmadinejad on previous occasions, and his links to Islamist-linked television networks.
The statement, it seems, comes on the back of messages to Galloway demanding an explanantion for his behaviour last week. His reference to the 'conservative establishment' is thought to be a veiled nod at The Commentator, which urged readers to contact Galloway last week, resulting in a number of e-mails being sent to Galloway's parliamentary inbox.
GALLOWAY'S FULL STATEMENT:
Me and the Palestinian cause: A number of questions have recently arisen I need to deal with.
Firstly if people want to talk to the Palestinians they need to contact the Palestine Liberation Organisation. This is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and has been for many decades.
Secondly, an organisation calling itself "BDS" does not own the words or the concept of boycott, divestment or sanctions. They are entitled to their own interpretation of these words but they don't own or control me. I will make my own interpretation. And it is this - no purchase of Israeli goods or services, no normal contacts with individuals or organisations in Israel who support the existence of the racist Apartheid creed of Zionism. That's what I mean by boycott. That's what I do.
Israelis who are outside of and against the system of Zionism are comrades of mine - like Prof Ilan Pappe. My opponent at Oxford University did not meet this test. The organiser of the event momentarily lionised by the liberal as well as the conservative establishment needs to know this, especially as he is a medical student.
To compare Israeli Zionism to "Vegetarianism" is like a doctor not knowing the difference between a pimple and a tumor. Apartheid Israel is a cancer at the heart of the middle-east. Only it's replacement by a bi-national democratic state from the Jordan River to the sea will cure this. That is what I am fighting for.
George Galloway MP
House of Commons
London
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