بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ Press Release
London UK, 11 January 2009 – While the British government has been selling arms used in Israel’s latest terrorist acts, as a cynical face-saving attempt at PR, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has sent emails of quotes made by Foreign Secretary David Miliband to local councils and Muslim community organisations. There have even been suggestions that these be read in mosques, in violation of the government’s own preference to keep politics away from religious centres.
Taji Mustafa, Media Representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain said: “The British governments own figures show it is selling more and more weapons to Israel, despite questions about Israel’s use of force. In 2007, Britain approved £6 million of arms exports. In 2008, it licensed sales 12 times as fast: £20m in the first three months alone. Britain provides Israel with many of the technological components used in its military hardware. The licenses covered the export of armoured vehicles and missile components that Israel regularly uses against the Muslims of Palestine. Major British companies have interests in Israel and trade is now well above £2.4 billion.”
“Unsurprisingly, amongst the list of quotes by David Miliband, there has not been a single word of condemnation of Israel’s massacres. He has repeatedly called for a ‘ceasefire’, portraying this massacre of close to 900 men, women and children as a war between two equal forces. He uses the language of understanding for Israel’s actions, is unquestioning of their motives (ignoring the fact that such a huge operation has been in planning for months) and simply makes statements of ‘regret’ for those slaughtered.”
“Neoconservative leader David Cameron echoed the government position almost exactly on his BBC TV interview with Andrew Marr earlier today.”
“Britain’s foreign policy continues to be characterised by double standards when it comes to the value of human life and support for violent and oppressive regimes. It has done nothing more than use this tragic episode to further promote Israel’s security in the region and boost Mahmoud Abbas’s corrupt administration. They fool no one with the double-speak uttered by their forked tongues.”