Green Party investigates councillor who shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ after election and said Palestinians should 'fight back'
6 May 2024, 17:14 | Updated: 6 May 2024, 17:36
The Green Party is investigating a councillor who shouted 'Allahu Akbar' after his election and said Palestinians had the right to 'fight back' after the October 7 attacks.
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Mothin Ali was elected as a councillor for the Gipton and Harehills ward in Leeds after winning more than 3,000 votes.
He declared his election victory as a "win for the people of Gaza".
Mr Ali, 42, said in a victory speech on Friday: “We will not be silenced. We will raise the voice of Gaza. We will raise the voice of Palestine."
He then shouted "Allahu Akbar!” - which translates to 'God is the greatest' in Arabic. The phrase is an Islamic declaration of faith and is used frequently within prayers. It has been used as a battle cry by a very small minority.
Mr Ali is a father-of-three, works as an accountant and runs a gardening blog in his spare time.
It comes after videos were uploaded to Mr Ali's social media following the October 7 attacks where he said Israel would “use the pretext of the fightback by Hamas fighters or supposedly Hamas fighters this morning” to launch attacks on Palestinian civilians.
He also said Gaza is the “biggest concentration camp the world has ever seen” and that he supported "the right of indigenous people to fight back”.
Mr Ali, prior to his election as a councillor, said in the video that Israel is a “settler, colonial, occupier” that has tried to “erase the legitimacy of a native population”.
“It’s one of the last European colonies in the world, and that’s why the European people don’t want to let it go. They use the weapon of anti-Semitism so effectively that anyone who criticises Israel is labelled as anti-Semitic.”
The newly-elected councillor previously came under heavy scrutiny for describing a Jewish chaplain at the University of Leeds as a "creep" and "kind of animal" after he was forced into hiding by protesters.
Rabbi Zecharia Deutsch received threats from pro-Palestinian activists due to his previous service in the Israel Defence Force (IDF).
A Green Party spokesperson told the Telegraph in a statement: “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.”
LBC approached Mr Ali for comment but he did not immediately respond.
