PA
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."
GRAPHIC WARNING: Jerusalem synagogue attack
Four killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(01 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: Israeli security officials inspect the site of an attack at a West Jerusalem synagogue on November 18, 2014 in Jerusalem. Four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack by two Palestinians on a Jewish synagogue in West Jerusalem, with the two attackers gunned down by Israeli police in the immediate wake of the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(02 of38)
Israeli emergency services members clean the sidewalk at the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers at a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years.AFP PHOTO / GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:GALI TIBBON via Getty Images)
Four killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(03 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: Members of the Israeli emergency service carry the body of a synagogue attack victim in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack by two Palestinians on a Jewish synagogue in West Jerusalem, with the two attackers gunned down by Israeli police in the immediate wake of the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Four killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(04 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: Members of the Israeli emergency service carry the body of a synagogue attack victim in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack by two Palestinians on a Jewish synagogue in West Jerusalem, with the two attackers gunned down by Israeli police in the immediate wake of the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Four killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(05 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: Israeli security officials inspect the site of an attack at a West Jerusalem synagogue on November 18, 2014 in Jerusalem. Four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack by two Palestinians on a Jewish synagogue in West Jerusalem, with the two attackers gunned down by Israeli police in the immediate wake of the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Four killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(06 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: Members of the Israeli emergency service carry the body of a synagogue attack victim in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack by two Palestinians on a Jewish synagogue in West Jerusalem, with the two attackers gunned down by Israeli police in the immediate wake of the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(07 of38)
Israeli emergency services members cleans the side of a car at the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers at a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years.AFP PHOTO / GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:GALI TIBBON via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(08 of38)
Israeli emergency services members cleans the side of a car at the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers at a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years.AFP PHOTO / GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:GALI TIBBON via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(09 of38)
Israeli emergency personnel stand near blood on the floor of a synagogue that was the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO/ AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD GHARABLI via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(10 of38)
Israeli emergency services members clean the sidewalk at the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers at a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO /JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:JACK GUEZ via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(11 of38)
Israeli emergency personnel walk past blood on the floor in a synagogue that was the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO/ AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD GHARABLI via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(12 of38)
Israeli security personnel stand outside a synagogue that was the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO /JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:JACK GUEZ via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(13 of38)
Israeli emergency services members and security personnel stand outside a synagogue that was the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO /AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD GHARABLI via Getty Images)
ISRAEL PALESTINIAN CONFLICT JERUSALEM(14 of38)
Israeli emergency services members clean the sidewalk at the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers at a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO / AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD GHARABLI via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(15 of38)
Israeli Zaka emergency services volunteers carry the body of one of the two Palestinian assailants who were shot dead while attacking worshippers at a synagogue to an ambulance in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:JACK GUEZ via Getty Images)
Four killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(16 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: Members of the Israeli emergency service carry a body of a synagogue attack victim in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack by two Palestinians on a Jewish synagogue in West Jerusalem, with the two attackers gunned down by Israeli police in the immediate wake of the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Four killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(17 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: Members of the Israeli emergency service carry the bodies of synagogue attack victims in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack by two Palestinians on a Jewish synagogue in West Jerusalem, with the two attackers gunned down by Israeli police in the immediate wake of the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(18 of38)
Ultra-orthodox Jews watch emergency personnel clean up and secure the area of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers at a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO /AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD GHARABLI via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(19 of38)
Israeli emergency services members carry a body at the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers at a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO /AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD GHARABLI via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(20 of38)
Israeli Zaka emergency services volunteers carry the body of one of the two Palestinian assailants who were shot dead while attacking worshippers at a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:JACK GUEZ via Getty Images)
Four killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(21 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: Members of the Israeli emergency service carry a body of a synagogue attack victim in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack by two Palestinians on a Jewish synagogue in West Jerusalem, with the two attackers gunned down by Israeli police in the immediate wake of the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(22 of38)
Israeli emergency services members carry a body at the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers at a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO /AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD GHARABLI via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(23 of38)
Israeli emergency services members carry a body at the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers at a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO /AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD GHARABLI via Getty Images)
Four killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(24 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: Members of the Israeli emergency service carry the bodies of synagogue attack victims in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack by two Palestinians on a Jewish synagogue in West Jerusalem, with the two attackers gunned down by Israeli police in the immediate wake of the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(25 of38)
Israeli Zaka emergency services volunteers load the body of one of the two Palestinian assailants who were shot dead while attacking worshippers at a synagogue into an ambulance in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:JACK GUEZ via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(26 of38)
Israeli Zaka emergency services volunteers load the body of one of the two Palestinian assailants who were shot dead while attacking worshippers at a synagogue into an ambulance in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:JACK GUEZ via Getty Images)
Mideast Israel Palestinians(27 of38)
Israeli rescue workers carry a body at the scene of a shooting attack in a Synagogue in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014. Two Palestinians stormed a Jerusalem synagogue on Tuesday, attacking worshippers praying inside with knives, axes and guns, and killing four people before they were killed in a shootout with police, officials said. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) (credit:Sebastian Scheiner/AP)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(28 of38)
Ultra-orthodox Jews watch emergency personnel (unseen) clean up and secure the area of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers at a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO /AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD GHARABLI via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(29 of38)
An Ultra-orthodox jewish man prays at the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO / GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:GALI TIBBON via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(30 of38)
Ultra-orthodox Jews watch emergency personnel (unseen) clean up and secure the area of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers at a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO /AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD GHARABLI via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(31 of38)
Israeli security personnel walk outside a synagogue that was the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO /AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD GHARABLI via Getty Images)
ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-JERUSALEM-SYNAGOGUE(32 of38)
An Ultra-orthodox jewish man prays at the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead in the deadliest attack in the city in years. AFP PHOTO /AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:AHMAD GHARABLI via Getty Images)
Four Israelis killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(33 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: Members of the Israeli emergency service carry the body of a synagogue attack victim in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack staged by two Palestinians on a Jewish synagogue in West Jerusalem. Israeli police shot down the two attackers after the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Four killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(34 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: Israeli security officials inspect the site of an attack at a West Jerusalem synagogue on November 18, 2014 in Jerusalem. Four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack by two Palestinians on a Jewish synagogue in West Jerusalem, with the two attackers gunned down by Israeli police in the immediate wake of the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Four killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(35 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: Israeli security officials inspect the site of an attack at a West Jerusalem synagogue on November 18, 2014 in Jerusalem. Four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack by two Palestinians on a Jewish synagogue in West Jerusalem, with the two attackers gunned down by Israeli police in the immediate wake of the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Four Israelis killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(36 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: A Jewish man prays outside the synagogue in which four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack staged by two Palestinians in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Israeli police shot down the two attackers after the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Four Israelis killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(37 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: Israeli security forces inspect the synagogue in which four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack staged by two Palestinians in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Israeli police shot down the two attackers after the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Four killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack(38 of38)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL -NOVEMBER 18: Israeli security officials inspect the site of an attack at a West Jerusalem synagogue on November 18, 2014 in Jerusalem. Four Israelis were killed and seven others injured in an attack by two Palestinians on a Jewish synagogue in West Jerusalem, with the two attackers gunned down by Israeli police in the immediate wake of the attack. (Photo by Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)