UK minister quits over 'morally indefensible' Gaza policy

Sayeeda Warsi, a senior minister in Britain's Foreign Office, resigned Tuesday, accusing Prime Minister David Cameron's government of taking a "morally indefensible" approach to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

While the British government has repeatedly called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, Cameron has been criticized by political opponents for what they say has been his reluctance to condemn Israel's actions in stronger terms.

Warsi announced her decision as Israel pulled its ground forces out of the Gaza Strip and started a 72-hour cease-fire with Hamas mediated by Egypt as a first step towards negotiations on a more enduring end to the month-old war.

Her resignation is embarrassing for Cameron, who has been accused of filling his government with too many middle-class white males. Warsi was not a full cabinet member but had the right to attend and played an important role in mediating between the government and Britain's Muslim community.

Warsi, a baroness who sits in Britain's upper house of parliament, in 2010 became Britain's first Muslim to serve in cabinet but in September 2012 was demoted to be a senior minister of state at the Foreign Office and a minister for faith and communities. Commentators have suggested that Warsi's resignation has more to do with that reshuffling than with Britain's Gaza stance, with some saying she was unpopular for her stances against Islamophobia and others saying she was shut out of an "old boys network."

Still, she told Huffington Post in an interview after resigning that she had been struggling with the government's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since November 2012.

Warsi said that with the latest violence in the conflict, she "couldn't sit silently by as the Israeli military committed acts that have been described by (U.N. Secretary-General) Ban Ki-moon as 'moral outrages' and 'criminal acts.'"

Warsi announced her resignation on Twitter, publishing a copy of a letter she had sent Cameron giving the reasons for her decision.

"Our approach and language during the current crisis in Gaza is morally indefensible, is not in Britain's national interest and will have a long term detrimental impact on our reputation internationally and domestically," Warsi, 43, said.

Britain's response to the events in Gaza was one of the factors behind the radicalization of British Muslims, she said, citing early evidence from the Home Office. That could have consequences for years to come, she said.

Cameron, who is on vacation in Portugal with his family, said in a statement he regretted Warsi's decision to step down and thanked her for her "excellent" work.

"Our policy has always been consistently clear — the situation in Gaza is intolerable and we've urged both sides to agree to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire," he said via his spokesman.

Warsi voiced her support for the people of Gaza in several comments on Twitter over the past month, saying the Palestinians needed a "viable and secure" state. She had called for the killing of civilians to stop.

Gaza officials say the war has left 1,865 Palestinians dead, most of them civilians. Israel says 64 of its soldiers and three civilians have been killed since fighting began on July 8.

In her role as a foreign office minister, Warsi held specific responsibility for government policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Born in northern England, she is the daughter of Pakistani immigrants to Britain and speaks fluent Urdu, Punjabi and Gujarati.

Al Jazeera and Reuters