Jeremy Corbyn has admitted being present at a wreath-laying memorial for suspected Palestinian terrorists accused of being behind the murder of Israeli Olympic athletes in 1972.

The Labour leader revealed he was there but did not "think" he was involved in the wreath-laying.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the news "deserves unequivocal condemnation from everyone".

It comes after pictures surfaced over the weekend of Mr Corbyn with a wreath at a cemetery in Tunisia four years ago.

Critics claimed he was standing near the grave of a group of terrorists accused of being behind a siege at the Munich Olympics in 1972, which saw 11 Israeli athletes and coaches and one police officer killed.


Image: Palestinian terrorists killed 11 Israelis at the 1972 Munich Olympics

Mr Corbyn's spokesperson had said he was commemorating 47 people killed in an Israeli air strike on a Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) base.

But an article in the Morning Star Mr Corbyn wrote after the ceremony claimed wreaths were laid for "others killed by Mossad agents in Paris in 1991".

Israel's secret service is accused of assassinating those behind the 1972 siege. The PLO's liaison officer with foreign inteligence agencies, Atef Bseiso, was killed in Paris in 1992.

Mr Corbyn said last year he "absolutely was not" honouring any terrorist and had only laid a wreath to those killed in the air strike.

Corbyn's answer to me saying he laid a wreath in Tunisia; when I asked about Munich massacre perpetrator pic.twitter.com/AiWy6X7HCT — Tamara Cohen (@tamcohen) May 29, 2017

But speaking himself for the first time since the new photos emerged, Mr Corbyn was asked about the wreath laid to those suspected terrorists.

He said: "A wreath was indeed laid by some of those who attended the conference for those who were killed in Paris in 1992.

"I was present when it was laid, I don't think I was actually involved in it.

"I was there because I wanted to see a fitting memorial to everyone who has died in every terrorist incident everywhere.

Image: Athletes and coaches were among those killed in the siege

"Because we have to end it. You cannot pursue peace through a cycle of violence. The only way you pursue peace is a cycle of dialogue."

Mr Netanyahu responded by saying: "The laying of a wreath by Jeremy Corbyn on the graves of the terrorist who perpetrated the Munich massacre and his comparison of Israel to the Nazis deserves unequivocal condemnation from everyone - left, right and everything in between."

Labour MP Luciana Berger also said: "Being 'present' is the same as being involved. When I attend a memorial, my presence alone, whether I lay a wreath or not, demonstrates my association and support.

"There can also never be a 'fitting memorial' for terrorists. Where is the apology?"