Bradford East Liberal Democrat MP David Ward is facing party disciplinary action over a statement he made about Israel's treatment of Palestinians ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day.

The Bradford East MP said on his website he was committed to "honouring those who died during the Holocaust" but accused "the Jews" in Israel of "inflicting atrocities on Palestinians... on a daily basis", according to the BBC.

Lib Dems will take disciplinary action but no decision has yet been taken on what that will be.

On the page, which has since been taken down, Mr Ward said he had "signed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons, in doing so pledging his commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day" and describes Auschwitz as "the Nazi concentration and extermination camp which is the site of the largest mass murder in history".

But he added: "Having visited Auschwitz twice - once with my family and once with local schools - I am saddened that the Jews, who suffered unbelievable levels of persecution during the Holocaust, could within a few years of liberation from the death camps be inflicting atrocities on Palestinians in the new State of Israel and continue to do so on a daily basis in the West Bank and Gaza."

Victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution will be honouring Holocaust Memorial Day on Sunday.

A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: “This is a matter we take extremely seriously. The Liberal Democrats deeply regret and condemn the statement issued by David Ward and his use of language which is unacceptable.”

The article was later restored to Mr Ward's website with updated comments: "For my entire political career I have fought prejudice. I have just returned from Bradford's Holocaust Memorial event where people across cultures and faiths joined together to say "We bear witness to the horrors of the Holocaust and will never forget its lessons."

"In the words of the Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, as quoted in the booklet 'Holocaust Memorial Day - Learning Lessons from the past to create a safer, better future': "I swore never to be silent whenever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."