Liberal leadership candidate Michael Ignatieff again attempted to clarify his controversial remarks regarding the Israeli attack on Qana, saying it's up to international bodies to decide if war crimes were committed in the air strike.

Speaking in Toronto on Friday, Ignatieff also slammed Prime Minister Stephen Harper for the Tory leader's remarks that most of the contenders for the party's top job were "anti-Israeli."

Liberal leadership candidate Michael Ignatieff delivers a policy speech at Innis College at the University of Toronto on Friday.
(Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

Ignatieff said that during the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, Israel responded to a provocation by Hezbollah and exercised its right to defend itself. He also said he's been a lifelong friend and supporter of the state of Israel.

But he said that based on evidence by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, "war crimes were visited on Israeli citizens and were visited on Lebanese civilians" during the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict.

"As I said earlier this week, whether war crimes were or were not committed on the attack on Qana is for international bodies to determine," the Toronto MP said in a speech.

Israel has rejected that the air strike in Qana was a war crime. But officials have apologized for the attack, saying they did not know civilians were in the area. They said the neighbourhood was targeted based on intelligence that Hezbollah fighters had used it to launch rockets at northern Israel.

Ignatieff said Friday he's accepted an invitation by the Canada-Israel Committee to go to Israel and learn more about their government's position on the conflict.

Comments criticized

In August, Ignatieff told the Toronto Star that civilian deaths were inevitable in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

"This is the kind of dirty war you're in when you have to do this and I'm not losing sleep about that," he said.

But in an interview Sunday on the Radio-Canada program Tout le monde en parle, he tried to explain what he should have said.

"I was a professor of human rights and I am also a professor of the laws of war, and what happened in Qana was a war crime and I should have said that," he said.

Ignatieff's recent comments have drawn criticism from a number of Jewish organizations. His Toronto campaign co-chair also withdrew her support.

No apology

On Thursday, Harper said he disagreed with Ignatieff's view of Qana, adding that it "is consistent with the anti-Israeli position that has been taken by virtually all of the candidates for the Liberal leadership."

Ignatieff called Harper's accusation a "disgrace" and said the prime minister has no right to say that anyone who criticizes Israel is therefore an enemy of Israel.

Harper stood firm Friday, refusing to apologize for his remarks.

Many of the Liberal candidates said this week that they disagree with Ignatieff's position on Qana. But Harper said it's hypocritical for candidates to now criticize Ignatieff. He said they stood by as Liberals took shots at Israel during the conflict.

"I think we all remember last summer when the Liberals were making all these anti-Israel comments. I don't recall hearing any of these Liberal leadership candidates speak out against it," Harper said.

"Except, I will say Mr. [Scott] Brison and Mr. [Joe] Volpe. They distanced themselves from it. None of the others did."