Dr. Abdul Bari: "If UK is serious about wanting peace, it must act as honest broker, not partisan bystander."  

London, 2008 Mar 3, MCB  
 
Muslim organizations in England have responded to Foreign Secretary David Miliband's refusal to condemn the latest Israeli massacre of Palestinians, suggesting that the British government was condoning the Zionist regime's war crimes.

The mainstream umbrella Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said it was "deeply concerned that Britain is continuing to adopt a policy of partisan support for the Zionist regime despite its atrocious behaviour in Gaza this week where it has killed over 100 Palestinians."

"Miliband, explicitly says that he condemns the use by some Palestinian groups of poor quality home made rockets," MCB secretary general Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari said.

"Yet inexplicably he seems to refrain from condemning the far more serious military firepower deployed by Israel against Gaza's civilian population," Abdul Bari said.

"This is blatantly one-sided and does our image in the international community and across the Muslim world no favours whatsoever," he said.

"The actions of Israel's military machine has been condemned by the UN Secretary general and even drew censure from the US State Department. Instead, our government should be insisting on the requirement for Israel to abide by all relevant UN resolutions and withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories, dismantle its illegal Jewish settlements and honour the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.

"If we are serious about wanting peace, we must act as honest brokers, not partisan bystanders," said Dr. Abdul Bari.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is the UK's largest Muslim umbrella body with over 500 affiliated national, regional and local organisations, mosques, charities and schools.