By Matt Chorley and Jason Groves Lib Dem MP David Ward was slammed last night for claiming he would copy Hamas terrorists and fire rockets at Israel if he lived in Gaza Nick Clegg was facing an international backlash last night after a Liberal Democrat MP kept his job despite saying he would fire rockets at Israel if he lived in Gaza. David Ward tweeted on Tuesday night: ‘The big question is – if I lived in Gaza, would I fire a rocket? Probably, yes.’ Continuing his rant, he added: ‘Ich bin ein Palestinian – the West must make up its mind which side it is on.’
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David Ward, MP for Bradford East, claimed he would copy Hamas terrorists
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Lib Dem politician said he would fire rockets into civilian areas of Israel
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Comments branded 'appalling', 'vile' and 'unforgivable' by fellow MPs
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Party leader Nick Clegg has ordered an investigation into the tweets
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'I condemn the actions of Hamas, and my comments were not in support of firing rockets into @placeholder.
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He added: 'However, while I defend the right of Israel to exist and defend itself, I will continue to speak out for the rights of the @placeholder people who are facing untold suffering.
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And no surprise that he still has the @placeholder whip.'
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He was suspended from the party for three months last summer following another outburst in which he appeared to question @placeholder’s right to exist.