In the US, National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said "the characterisation of Zionism as a crime against humanity... is offensive and wrong".

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Some councils have warned the scheme - for England - will be a "free-for-all", but Mr Boles said he did not "see it as a crime against humanity".

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Taubira, from French Guinea, has served as French deputy in the Assembly since 1993, during which time she proposed a law that recognizes the Atlantic slave trade and slavery as a crime against humanity.

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