George Galloway writes to the Charity Commission

Viva Palestina caught the imagination of the Arab world when it organised in February, through the voluntary contributions of British Muslims, a convoy of over 100 vehicles to take £1 million pounds worth of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. This followed the barbaric invasion of Gaza by Israel in January and the continuing illegal seige through which Israel prevents food, fuel, medical supplies and other essential resources from entering Gaza.

Now the Charities Commission has frozen £100,000 intended to help the people of Gaza and is threatening Viva Palestina with legal action. George Galloway MP has written to the Charities Commission in response to it scandalous treatment of Viva Palestina, particularly compared to its sanctioning of the Zionist Federation's appeal for “care packages” to send to Israeli soldiers, in support, as George Galloway says in his letter, "of a foreign army involved in a widely condemned military action, in which thousands of civilians were killed, maimed and orphaned."

Political double standards

George Galloway writes: "I have become increasingly concerned about the abuse of your powers displayed in your brazenly obvious political double standards. About your attempts, under the guise of regulating British charities, to police the democratic efforts of political activists in Britain in a way never envisaged by parliament. About your preparedness to waste large sums of public money in political stunts, either at the behest of others or in the hope that you are properly anticipating their wishes. And above all, in the context of this issue, your almost laughably obvious prejudice against the Palestinian cause and against Britain 's two million-strong Muslim community."