The Corbynista MP sparked outrage after claiming in her weekly newsletter to local members that Gaza should be added to the list of “recent genocides”.
A Labour source confirmed last night that the Chief Whip had suspended Kate Osamor from the Parliamentary Labour Party pending an investigation.
In her initial Twitter post on Friday, Ms Osamor wrote: “Tomorrow is Holocaust Memorial Day, an international day to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, the millions of other people murdered under Nazi persecution of other groups and more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and now Gaza.”
The reference to genocide in Gaza drew criticism, with the Board of Deputies of British Jews issuing a statement saying it “unreservedly condemns the attempts by Kate Osamor to link the Holocaust to the current situation in Gaza”.
Her remarks came just days after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer claimed he had “changed” his party.
Following the backlash, but before her suspension, the MP for Edmonton in north London issued an apology “for any offence caused”.
When referencing the situation in Gaza, she opted to describe it as a “humanitarian disaster” as opposed to a “genocide”.
Ms Osamor’s tweet came the same day UN judges in the Hague said Israel must ensure its forces do not commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
In a hearing at The Hague on Friday, the 17-strong panel of judges said it would not throw out the genocide case against Israel and that it must provide basic humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip – but it stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.
South Africa had asked for the court to order Israel to halt its operation, which has laid waste to much of the enclave and killed more than 25,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
The Israeli military’s attacks on Gaza followed a deadly attack by Hamas on 7 October that killed more than 1,200 people and led to roughly 240 being taken hostage.
Ms Osamor served in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.
The former Labour leader has addressed a series of pro-Palestine marches that have taken place in London since the attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on October 7 last year.
The Edmonton MP invited Mr Corbyn to address students at a “political summer school” last year, after which she said: “Without exception the students remain inspired and excited by Jeremy and the politics of hope he represents.”
