British MP tweets he would fire rockets at Israel

‘Comment an incitement to violence’

LONDON, July 23, (AFP): A British lawmaker was criticised Wednesday for tweeting that he would fire rockets at Israel if he lived in Palestinian territory.

“The big question is — if I lived in Gaza would I fire a rocket? — probably yes,” Liberal Democrat member of parliament David Ward tweeted.

Ward has previously been suspended from the junior party in Britain’s coalition because of remarks about the Jewish state.

Israel has waged a blistering 16-day bombardment of Gaza which has left 630 Palestinians and 29 Israelis, in an effort to stop Islamist movement Hamas from raining rock-

Ministers and officials from Pakistan, Somalia, Ethiopia, India, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Zambia and others also pledged to step up efforts to tackle both issues.

Cameron said ending FGM and child marriage was a global challenge on a par with eradicating poverty and tackling diseases. “We are dealing with a preventable evil. This does not need to happen,” he told the summit attended by more than 500 delegates from 50 countries.

Meanwhile, actress Freida Pinto of “Slumdog Millionaire” fame has joined forces with girls’ rights campaigners in calling for an end to the practice of female genital mutilation. ets into the country.

Some on social media called on party leader Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to suspend Ward from the Liberal Democrats, while others described the comment as an incitement to violence.

The party distanced itself from the comments and said Clegg had long called for a peaceful solution to the conflict.

“We utterly condemn David Ward’s comments, they are not representative of the Liberal Democrats,” the party said in a statement.

“The party takes this matter very seriously and will treat it as a disciplinary issue.”

The Indian actress, an ambassador for an international children’s development organization, called Tuesday for more progress to abolish the practice as she addressed Britain’s inaugural “Girl Summit.”

UNICEF, the United Nations’ children agency, said some progress has been made on ending female genital mutilation, most commonly practiced in Africa and the Middle East. It is still highly prevalent in Egypt, Sudan, Mali and Somalia.

The agency and Britain’s government hope that the summit will help galvanize action to end the practice within a generation. Indian actress Freida Pinto smiles during the Girl Summit 2014, at the Walworth Academy, in London, July 22. ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ actress Freida Pinto has joined forces with girls’ rights campaigners calling for an end to the practice of female genital mutilation. The actress, who is an ambassador for an international children’s development organization, addressed a London summit Tuesday calling for more

progress to abolish the practice and end child marriages. (AP)