Former Cabinet Minister Sayeeda Warsi and Grant Shapps were embroiled in a heated Twitter row Tuesday following the murder of four worshippers, including a British-Israeli national, at a Jerusalem synagogue.
Warsi, who was sacked as party chairman in 2012 in order to make way for Shapps, faced a furious backlash after comparing the horrific attack with the recent tensions at the Al Aqsa mosque where Palestinian protesters have clashed with Israeli police.
Chairman Shapps was quick to distance the Tories from Warsi's comments saying she "speaks for herself, not the party." But Warsi quickly responded that her successor was guilty of "hypocrisy."
Warsi, who was moved to the post of Senior Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in a September 2012 reshuffle, dramatically quit the government in August this year, citing the UK's "morally indefensible" position on the conflict in Gaza.
Speaking exclusively to The Huffington Post UK at the time, the Tory peer accused the coalition of failing to act as an "honest broker" in the Middle East and called for an immediate arms embargo against Israel.
After she quit the government, the Tory peer said she wanted to "speak more freely" on the issue.
But many were quick to condemn Warsi's comments today, including Jeremy Newmark, the former chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, the editor of the Jewish Chronicle, Stephen Pollard, and the UK-based Israel advocacy group, the Zionist Federation.
A spokesman for the Israeli embassy told the Jewish Chronicle that Warsi's comments were "morally reprehensible and shameful."
But Warsi hit back at her critics, arguing that the tragic murders were inevitable following "weeks of intimidation."
