Under-fire Green councillor accuses critics of 'Islamophobia' as he hits back amid calls for his suspension after he claimed Palestinians 'had a right to fight back' against Israel following Hamas attacks

The under-fire Green councillor facing demands for his suspension after he claimed Hamas 'had a right to fight back' against Israel hit out today, accusing his critics of 'Islamophobia'.

Bizarrely, Mothin Ali – who sparked outrage after he shouted 'Allahu Akbar' ('God is greatest') after being elected to Leeds city council last week and was accused of helping force a rabbi and his family into hiding after targeting him with a string of slurs – claimed his campaign had 'united people from all backgrounds, races and religions'.

In a statement issued through Leeds Green Party, which is so far resisting calls for his suspension, the 42-year-old accountant said: 'I am sorry for any upset my comments caused about the Gaza conflict.

'That was not my intention.

'Like many across the world I have been deeply impacted by the dreadful conflict currently underway in Gaza. The International Court of Justice said this conflict meets the case for plausible genocide.

'I do not support violence on either side: violence leads to more violence and this is what I have tried to convey.

'I have consistently called for an immediate ceasefire and a release of all hostages.

'I hope to be working with a broad coalition including both the Jewish and Muslim Greens soon to discuss sensible ways for us to work on communicating our shared passion of bringing the conflict to an end.

'Being elected to represent the wonderful community of Gipton and Harehills was one of the proudest moments of my life.

'The inaccurate reporting and misrepresentation of my acceptance speech has led to me being subject to a lot of hate and hostility.

'I should also make clear that it is not unusual for somebody of my faith to use the words 'Allahu Akbar' as an expression of gratitude and celebration.

'Some have sought to misrepresent this and it suggests Islamophobia to me.

'I am not a career politician but I have campaigned for Gipton and Harehills for many years and have been consistently urged to speak up for these communities and on the issue of Palestine, which I will continue to do.

'My campaign united people from all backgrounds, races and religions in order to affect change for our local community.

'I will continue to work in peace to represent all of our communities in the coming four years.'

Sharing Mr Ali's statement, the Green Party nationally added: 'We are fully investigating all of the context around this and have nothing further to add at this moment.

'The Green Party's commitment to non-violence is absolute.'

Rejecting his apology, Alan Lamb, leader of the Conservative group on Leeds city council, told the Mail: 'This man's actions and antics have left Leeds and the city council in a dangerous place, and yet the Greens are completely ignoring it.

'They've known about his views for months but continued campaigning for him and even celebrated his election win over the weekend.

'When will he and the Green group address his abhorrent and anti-Semitic views, such as his comments immediately after the barbaric attacks in October or when he forced the university rabbi and his family into hiding?

'It's absolutely shameful and it doesn't reflect well on our great city.

'The Green group on the city council are bringing themselves into disrepute.'

The Greens last night faced fury over their failure to suspend the councillor who launched a hate-filled tirade against a rabbi.

Mr Ali called Leeds University's Jewish chaplain, Zecharia Deutsch, a 'creep', a 'low-life' and an 'animal'.

The councillor had been allowed to stand for the Greens despite branding Israelis 'white supremacists' after the Hamas Palestinian terror group killed 1,200 people on October 7 last year. He was filmed shouting 'We will raise the voice of Palestine – Allahu Akbar!' after winning his council seat.

Yesterday the party faced a string of calls to take action against him, including from Jewish leaders who accused it of hypocrisy for not distancing itself from his 'extremist nonsense'. Back in February Daily Mail feature writer Guy Adams presented the Greens with a dossier of offensive comments made by Mr Ali, including the tirade against Rabbi Deutsch, who was later forced into hiding.

When presented with the evidence at the time, the Green Party told this paper it 'believes in free speech' and Mr Ali was allowed to stand, and win, as a councillor. But staggeringly, when asked about Mr Ali's offensive remarks in a television interview on Sunday night, Carla Denyer co-leader of the Green Party, appeared not to know about them.

She declined to comment when asked about how well the party vets candidates, saying she was 'not familiar with all of the details' and didn't have 'the full facts at hand.' She added the remarks sounded 'very concerning' and that she would 'make sure that those are looked into'. 

Last night there was still no indication Mr Ali faced being suspended, with the Greens only saying they were 'investigating'.

It came as the party faces a showdown with the Government's independent adviser on anti-Semitism, ex-Labour MP Lord Mann, over its vetting of candidates. Ahead of a high-level meeting this week, he warned: 'Doing nothing is not an option.'

Analysis has showed that more than 40 councillors were elected in England last week after making the Middle East crisis part of their campaign.

Mr Ali, a prominent YouTuber who works as an accountant and runs a gardening blog, sparked outrage in February after he released a video aimed at Rabbi Deutsch.

Calling him a 'kind of animal', 'creep', 'absolute low-life', 'absolutely disgusting' and 'shameful', he falsely claimed he had tried to kill women and children in Gaza after temporarily returning to his IDF unit after the October 7 attacks.

The rabbi and his wife and children were all forced into hiding after receiving an avalanche of threats. Yet Mr Ali remained the Green candidate in the Leeds ward of Gipton and Harehills, where he last week celebrated his victory as a 'win for the people of Gaza' – a territory he has called a 'concentration camp'.

Leaders of Britain's Jewish community yesterday condemned the Green Party as 'breathtakingly foolish, dangerous and insensitive' for having stood by Mr Ali and demanded his immediate suspension.

In an open letter to co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, the chairman of Leeds Jewish Representative Council, Simon Myerson KC, wrote that Mr Ali had a 'substantial history of views which are concerning to the Jewish community'.

Accusing the Greens of 'hypocrisy', Mr Myerson said it was wrong for the party to continue to associate itself with Mr Ali.

In an open letter to co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, the chairman of Leeds Jewish Representative Council, Simon Myerson KC, wrote that Mr Ali had a 'substantial history of views which are concerning to the Jewish community'.

He accused Mr Ali of attempting to justify 'rape, murder and kidnap' and using 'anti-Semitic tropes'. 'These matters do, I suggest, call the Green Party's own integrity into question,' Mr Myerson wrote.

He added: 'The deliberate exploitation of a particular issue which is never going to be addressed by the election of a local councillor as a major factor in that councillor's election campaign is nakedly opportunistic.'

Saying the party had 'known about Mr Ali's views for a considerable time', he insisted it was time to act and 'formally suspend Mr Ali as a Green Party member'.

Claudia Mendoza, head of the Jewish Leadership Council, added: 'Mr Ali's record speaks for itself and if the Green Party is serious about dealing with anti-Semitism rather than just paying lip service to it in meetings with community leaders, action will be taken.'

A spokesman for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said it was 'appalled' by Mr Ali appearing to 'celebrate and attempt to justify the October 7 mass terror attack on Israel', saying the Greens had 'serious questions to answer'. The party has failed to respond to this newspaper's requests for comment since Mr Ali's acceptance speech emerged.

But a spokesman told the Daily Telegraph: 'The Green Party is investigating issues drawn to our attention in relation to Councillor Mothin Ali, so cannot comment further. However, we are clear that we never support anything that extols violence.'

Mr Ali has also been approached for comment. He has said he has been inundated with death threats himself, insisting his video about the Leeds rabbi 'has absolutely nothing to do with violence'.