Diane Abbott is once again facing calls for expulsion from the Labour Party after referring to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as the “Jewish Defence Force” in a post accusing them of shooting Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The veteran MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington — who was reinstated to the party shortly before last year’s general election after previously losing the whip over a row about whether Jewish people experience racism — is under renewed pressure following her now-deleted post on X, which seemingly conflated Israel with Judaism and cited a decades-old article as if describing current events.

In the post, Ms Abbott wrote: “Beyond horrific that the Jewish Defence Force is gunning down Palestinians as they queue for food #GazaGenocide.” It appeared to reference a 2001 article by journalist Chris Hedges, who alleged that Israeli troops had “enticed children like mice into a trap and murdered them for sport” — comments which have long been dismissed by critics as inflammatory and unsubstantiated.

Ms Abbott did not clarify the origin of the claim or explain why she referred to the Israeli military as the “Jewish Defence Force”, a term critics claim feeds into antisemitic tropes by blurring the line between a national military and a religion.

Ms Abbott’s post also came at a time when antisemitism concerns are under the spotlight especially after Bob Vylan’s controversial set at Glastonbury at the weekend.

Russell Langer, director of public affairs for the Jewish Leadership Council, told the Jewish News: “This is the latest in a series of grossly offensive remarks made by Diane Abbott towards the Jewish community.

“As an MP who has already had the whip suspended in the past, we expect a clear message of zero tolerance to be shown.”

A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said: “Diane Abbott’s disgraceful tweet this morning is the latest in her long line of anti-Jewish offences and provocations.

“Coming so soon after the appalling scenes at Glastonbury at the weekend, there can be no excuse, and she should now lose the whip as a Labour MP.

“After a long and trailblazing career, it is tragic that she will end it known mainly for her fomenting of bigotry.”

Ms Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987, was suspended by Labour last year after claiming in a letter to The Observer that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people did not face racism “all their lives” in the same way as Black people — comparing the prejudice faced by such groups to “prejudice against redheads”.

At the time, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called the comments “antisemitic” and confirmed Ms Abbott would not stand as a Labour candidate while an investigation was ongoing.

However, she was quietly readmitted to the party shortly before the July 2024 general election, prompting anger among some Jewish groups.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism said the 71-year-old’s latest remarks revealed a “sick interplay of misinformation and prejudice”.

A spokesperson told The Telegraph: “It is not clear if Diane Abbott deleted this tweet because the post referred to a (contested) incident two decades ago which she was passing off as current, or because she said out loud what so many far-Left activists believe, namely that references to ‘Israel’, ‘Zionists’ and so on are euphemisms for ‘Jewish’, or for some other reason.

“What is clear is that this post exemplifies the sick interplay of misinformation and prejudice so disgustingly prevalent in anti-Israel circles.

“How many strikes is this for Ms Abbott? Will the Labour Party finally expel her?