China's munificence in Africa is going down very badly with the West - Hilary Benn the International Development Secretary has warned the Chinese President that billions of dollars of unconditional aid and soft loans could undermine all the work that's been done in trying to promote the West's model of aid, and the World Bank's preconditions for loans, are being trumped by a country whose economy is on the march, and who is thirsting for influence abroad.

BAGHDAD, Iraq Feb 7, 2007 (AP)— A Sea Knight helicopter crashed Wednesday in an insurgent stronghold northwest of Baghdad, killing all seven people on board, the military said, the fifth chopper lost in Iraq in just over two weeks.

A senior U.S. defense official said the helicopter did not appear to have been hit by hostile fire, but an Iraqi air force officer said it was downed by an anti-aircraft missile and an al-Qaida-linked Sunni group claimed responsibility for the downing.

The twin-rotor CH-46 went down about 20 miles northwest of the capital, said U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell. "A quick reaction force is on site and the investigation is going on as we speak," he told reporters in Baghdad.

The military said later that the Marine CH-46 helicopter went down in the volatile Anbar province while conducting routine operations and all seven crew members and passengers were killed in the crash.

U.S. forces sealed off the area and helicopters buzzed overhead as flames and a huge plume of black smoke billowed from the wreckage in an open field, not far from a squat concrete farmhouse.

Caldwell also said the long-awaited Baghdad security operation "is ongoing as we speak," a day after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki acknowledged that the plan to pacify the violence-ridden capital had been slow to start and had allowed insurgents time to step up attacks that have killed hundreds of Iraqis in recent weeks.

U.S. military officials have said the operation began to be put in place when U.S. President George W. Bush announced it Jan. 10 and Caldwell said Wednesday that it was "ongoing." Officials have said there would be no announced start of the security sweep but instead it would build gradually.

The Iraqi general who is leading the security drive, Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar, took over the operation headquarters on Monday.

Jerusalem - A new Israeli construction project in Jerusalem has sparked a storm of controversy, with Muslim leaders warning of harm to Islamic holy places and calling for a revival of the uprising against Israel.

The row centres around Israel's building of a new walkway leading up to the Old City's disputed Temple Mount/ Harem al-Sharif compound, holy to both Jews and Muslims and a perennial Jerusalem flashpoint.

The compound is perhaps the most volatile site in an already volatile region. It houses the al-Aqsa mosque, the third most holy site in Islam, and Muslims believe it marks the spot from where the prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven.

For Jews, it is the holiest site in Judaism, as it contains the archaeological remnants of their biblical temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, and abuts the Western (Wailing) Wall, the only surviving structure pertaining to the temple.

Although Israel claims sovereignty over the site, administration of the holy places in the compound is in the hands of the Muslim Waqf religious trust, which zealously guards against any encroachment.

Claims that Israel is attempting to undermine the foundations of the compound's al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques are not new and have been sounded, in various forms, virtually since Israel captured the Old City of Jerusalem area in the 1967 Middle East War.

Islamic leaders are unappeased by Israel's assertion that the Muslim holy sites would not be harmed by the current work being undertaken to prepare for the construction of a new walkway from the Western Wall plaza to the compound.

The walkway is to replace an old wooden structure built after the previous ramp collapsed in 2004 due to rain, snow and a minor earthquake.

Israel says it is not building the new walkway in the compound but outside it, and argues it is necessary to provide safe access to it. It had declared the previous structure a 'safety hazard.'

'There is no connection to the Temple Mount,' Dr Gideon Avni, an archaeologist working on the project, said of the excavations.

'The danger in Jerusalem has increased. It is high time for the Intifada (uprising) of the Islamic people,' said Raed Salah, head of Israel's Islamic Movement northern faction, who on Wednesday was arrested as he tried to force his way through a security gate leading to the Western Wall Plaza.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, and President Mahmoud Abbas, currently in Saudi Arabia for talks on forming a unity government, also lent their voices to the protests.

Abbas called for the Islamic world to intervene to stop the work, and Haniya, whose Hamas movement has been engaged in bloody clashes with Abbas' Fatah organization for months, told Palestinians to remember that their battle was with the 'Israeli occupation.'

The Jerusalem Post daily, in an editorial Wednesday, accused Palestinian leaders of 'exploiting the issue for political purposes to redirect hostility against Israel in the midst of a bloody conflict.'

'Each time the Palestinians engage in internal wars, our leaders have a special talent for uniting them against us,' Roni Shaked of the Yediot Achronot daily countered.

Jordan's King Abdullah II lodged an official complaint with the Israeli government and demanded the work be stopped.

Even the US State Department joined in the fray, with spokesman Sean McCormack telling reporters that 'we urge all parties to exercise great care when deciding whether and how to engage in any activity near sensitive religious sites.'

Israeli criticism of the excavations focuses less on any alleged harm to Muslim holy sites, but more on whether the work was coordinated with the Waqf.

'All this commotion could have been avoided,' Yediot's Shaked wrote in an article entitled 'Playng with fire.'

'The bulldozers started without Israel having taken the position of the Waqf into consideration,' he said.

Tehran says it is holding the US responsible for the life and safety of Jalal Sharafi, the second secretary at the Iranian embassy in Baghdad who was seized by men allegedly wearing Iraqi army uniforms on Sunday.

Four men are being held and questioned about the abduction at the Iraqi interior ministry and the Iranian foreign ministry has claimed that the investigation so far has revealed that the men were following American orders.

Alireza Ranaghi, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Iran, said the interior ministry did not deny or confirm that the four men had admitted that there were following American orders.

Mohammad Ali Hosseini, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, said Sharafi was seized by a group working under US supervision.

He said: "Based on reliable information, the group which has committed this completely terrorist act, are active under the supervision of the American forces.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns this aggressive act which is in violation of international law."

Iran and the US broke off diplomatic relations in 1980.

Iran on Tuesday summoned the ambassadors of Iraq and Switzerland, which represents US interests in the Islamic republic.

Philippe Welti, the Swiss ambassador to Iran, and Mohammed Majid al-Sheikh, the Iraqi ambassador, were summoned to meetings with their respective regional directors at the foreign ministry.

The Iranian foreign ministry told the envoys: "The kidnapping was contrary to international laws and the diplomat should be released at once and those who committed the terrorist act punished."

Iraqi and Iranian officials said that Sharafi was seized by 30 gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms as he drove through a central Baghdad neighbourhood.

One Iraqi official said that Iraqi soldiers in two vehicles had intercepted a car carrying Sharafi at 6pm on Sunday in a predominantly Shia area.

The Iraqi soldiers took Sharafi to another car and sped away.

Iraqi police officers suspected that a kidnapping was taking place and opened fire on the cars, and detained some of the occupants.

Those who were detained were released on Monday.

The Iraqi troops were part of an army unit that receives direct orders from the US military, the Iraqi official said, declining to be identified because of the sensitivity of the information.

The White House has authorised US troops in Iraq to kill or capture Iranian agents deemed to be a threat, saying evidence was mounting that Iran was supporting "terrorists" inside Iraq.

The US has accused Iran of being a major supplier of bombs and other weapons used to target US forces. Tehran has denied the charges.

Tensions have flared between the US and Iran over US-led efforts to isolate Iran and force it to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons programme.

THIS is the full transcript of the cockpit video from call sign POPOV36 during the disastrous friendly fire attack on the Household Cavalry patrol. Lasting just over 15 minutes, it begins just before the A-10 Thunderbolt pilot spots the four British vehicles. The local time is 4.36pm, or 1.36pm Greenwich Mean Time which is what the military use. The killer pilot’s wingman, hunting targets with him in a second A-10, had the call sign POPOV35. The other main call signs on the radio net are MANILA HOTEL, MANILA34, and LIGHTNING34 — three US Marine Corps Forward Air Controllers on the ground attached to British units. They are SKY CHIEF, an American AWAC jet controlling the overall air battle and COSTA58, a British pilot nearby. The time code in hours, minutes and seconds is from the digital clock on the pilot’s display. Transcript starts:

1336.30 MANILA HOTEL:

POPOV from MANILA HOTEL. Can you confirm you engaged that tube and those vehicles?

1336.36 POPOV35:

Affirm Sir. Looks like I’ve got multiple vehicles in reverts at about 800 metres to the north of your arty rounds. Can you switch fire, and shift fire, and get some arty rounds on those?

1336.47 MANILA HOTEL:

Roger, I understand that those are the impacts you observed earlier on my timing?

1336.51 POPOV35:

Affirmative.

1336.52 MANILA HOTEL:

Roger, standby. Let me make sure they’re not on another mission.

1336.57 POPOV36:

Hey, I got a four ship. Looks like we got orange panels on them though. Do we have any friendlies up in this area?

1337.03 MANILA HOTEL:

I understand that was north 800 metres.

1337.12 MANILA HOTEL:

POPOV, understand that was north 800 metres?

1337.16 POPOV35:

Confirm, north 800 metres. Confirm there are no friendlies this far north on the ground.

1337.21 MANILA HOTEL:

That is an affirm. You are well clear of friendlies.

1337.25 POPOV35:

Copy. I see multiple riveted vehicles. Some look like flatbed trucks and others are green vehicles. Can’t quite make out the type. Look like may be ZIL157s (Russian made trucks used by Iraqi army).

1337.36 MANILA HOTEL:

Roger. That matches our Intel up there. And understand you also have the other fixed wing up this push? For terminal control, if you can.

1337.44 POPOV35:

I’d love to. I didn’t talk to him yet.

1337.46 MANILA HOTEL:

Roger, I believe CASPER is up this push too. Two Super Tomcats.

1337.54 POPOV35:

Hey dude.

1337.56 POPOV36:

I got a four ship of vehicles that are evenly spaced along a road going north.

1338.04 POPOV36:

Look down at your right, 2 o’clock, at 10 o’clock low, there is a, left 10 o’clock low, look down there north along that canal, right there. Coming up just south of the village.

1338.21 POPOV35:

Evenly spaced? Where we strafed?

1338.23 POPOV36:

No. No. Further east, further west, right now. And there’s four or five of them right now heading up there.

1338.29 POPOV35:

No, I don’t have you visual.

1338.30 POPOV36:

I’m back at your 6 – no factor.

1338.31 POPOV35:

OK, now where’s this canal?

1338.35 POPOV35:

Don’t hit those F18s that are out there.

1338.38 POPOV36:

OK. Right underneath you. Right now, there’s a canal that runs north/south. There’s a small village, and there are vehicles that are spaced evenly there.

1338.49 POPOV36:

They look like they have orange panels on though.

1338.51 POPOV35:

He told me, he told me there’s nobody north of here.

1338.52 POPOV36:

I know. There, right on the river.

1338.53 POPOV35:

I see vehicles though, might be our original dudes.

1339.09 POPOV36:

They’ve got something orange on top of them.

1339.10 POPOV35:

POPOV for MANILA 3, is MANILA 34 in this area?

1339.14 MANILA HOTEL:

Say again?

1339.15 POPOV35:

MANILA HOTEL, is MANILA 34 in this area?

1339.19 MANILA HOTEL:

Negative. Understand they are well clear of that now.

1339.23 POPOV35:

OK, copy. Like I said, multiple riveted vehicles. They look like flatbed trucks. Are those your targets?

1339.30 MANILA HOTEL:

That’s affirm.

1339.31 POPOV35:

OK.

1339.34 POPOV36:

Let me ask you one question.

1339.35 POPOV35:

What’s that?

1339.45 POPO36:

(to MANILA HOTEL) Hey, tell me what type of rocket launchers you got up here?

1339.50 POPOV36:

I think they’re rocket launchers.

1339.52 MANILA HOTEL:

. . . (garbled) You were stepped on, say again.

1339.54 POPOV35:

MANILA HOTEL, fire your arty (artillery) up that 800 metres north, and see how we do.

1340.01 MANILA HOTEL:

Roger, standby for shot. They are getting adjustments to the guns now.

1340.34 POPOV35:

Copy.

1340.09 POPOV36:

Roll up your right wing and look right underneath you.

1340.12 POPOV35:

(angry) I know what you’re talking about.

1340.13 POPOV36:

OK, well they got orange rockets on them.

1340.17 POPOV35:

Orange rockets?

1340.17 POPOV36:

Yeah, I think so.

1340.18 POPOV35:

Let me look.

1340.26 POPOV35:

We need to think about getting home.

1340.29 POPOV36:

3.6 is what it says (a fuel measurement).

1340.31 POPOV35:

Yeah, I know. I’m talking time wise.

1340.35 POPOV36:

I think killing these damn rocket launchers, it would be great.

(The tape then becomes garbled)

1340.52 MANILA HOTEL:

Yeah, POPOV36, MANILA HOTEL. I’ve got other aircraft up this push. Not sure they’re coming to me. Someone else might be working this freak.

1341.00 POPOV35:

Yeah, MANILA34 is working them, break, break.

1340.12 POPOV36:

Yeah, I see that, you see I’m going to roll down.

1340.15 MANILA 34:

Break, be advised MANILA34 is not working the F18s unless they are trying to check in with me, over.

1341.21 POPOV35:

Copy.

1341.24 POPOV36:

OK, do you see the orange things on top of them?

1341.32 MANILA HOTEL:

POPOV 36 from MANILA HOTEL. Are you able to switch to Crimson?

1341.37 POPOV36:

POPOV 36 is rolling in.

1341.40 MANILA HOTEL:

Tell you what.

1341.41 POPOV35:

I’m coming off west. You roll in. It looks like they are exactly what we’re talking about.

1341.49 POPOV36:

We got visual.

1341.50 POPOV36:

OK. I want to get that first one before he gets into town then.

1341.53 POPOV35:

Get him – get him.

1341.55 POPOV36:

All right, we got rocket launchers, it looks like. Number 2 is rolling in from the south to the north, and 2’s in.

1342.04 POPOV35:

Get it.

POPOV36, “rolls in” for an attack and turns his A-10 into a vertical dive to strafe the British column, destroying two Scimitar armoured vehicles and killing L/Cpl of Horse Matty Hull.

1342.09 - GUNFIRE -

1342.18 POPOV35:

I’m off your west.

1342.22 POPOV35:

Good hits.

1342.29 POPOV36:

Got a visual.

1342.30 POPOV35:

I got a visual. You’re at your high 10.

1342.31 POPOV36:

Gotcha.

1342.30 POPOV36:

That’s what you think they are, right?

1342.39 POPOV35:

It looks like it to me, and I got my goggles on them now.

1342.59 POPOV35:

OK, I’m looking at getting down low at this.

1343.13 MANILA HOTEL:

POPOV 36 from MANILA HOTEL, guns . . .

1343.17 MANILA HOTEL:

To engage those targets in the revetts (slopes).

1343.24 POPOV36:

It looks like he is hauling ass. Ha ha. Is that what you think they are?

1343.34 POPOV36:

1–2

1343.35 POPOV35:

It doesn’t look friendly.

1343.38 POPOV36:

OK, I’m in again from the south.

1343.40 POPOV35:

Ok.

1343.47 - GUNFIRE -

1343.54 LIGHTNING 34:

POPOV 34, LIGHTNING 34.

1344.09 POPOV35:

POPOV 35, LIGHTNING 34 GO.

1344.12 LIGHTNING 34:

Roger, POPOV. Be advised that in the 3122 and 3222 group box you have friendly armour in the area. Yellow, small armoured tanks. Just be advised.

1344.16 POPOV35:

Ahh s***.

1344.19 P0POV35:

Got a — got a smoke.

1344.21 LIGHTNING 34:

Hey, POPOV34, abort your mission. You got a, looks we might have a blue on blue situation.

1344.25 POPOV35:

F***. God bless it.

1344.29 POPOV35:

POPOV 34.

1344.35 POPOV35:

F***, f***, f***.

1344.36 MANILA 34:

POPOV34, this is MANILA 34. Did you copy my last, over?

1344.39 POPOV35:

I did.

1344.47 POPOV35:

Confirm those are friendlies on that side of the canal.

1344.51 POPOV35:

S***.

1344.58 MANILA 34:

Standby POPOV.

1345.04 POPOV36:

God dammit.

1344.14 MANILA HOTEL:

Hey POPOV 36, from MANILA HOTEL.

1344.25 MANILA 34:

OK POPOV. Just west of the 3-4 easting. On the berm up there, the 3422 area is where we have our friendlies, over.

1344.39 POPOV35:

All right, POPOV 35 has smoke. Let me know how those friendlies are right now, please.

1344.45 MANILA 34:

Roger, standby.

1344.49 POPOV35:

Gotta go home dude.

1344.50 POPOV36:

Yeah, I know. We’re f***ed.

1345.54 POPOV35:

S***.

1346.01 POPOV36:

As you cross the circle, you are 3 o’clock low.

1346.03 POPOV35:

Roger.

1346.12 POPOV35:

POPOV 35 is Bingo. Let us know what’s happening.

13446.15 MANILA HOTEL:

Roger. We are getting that information for you right now. Standby.

1346.20 POPOV36:

F***.

1346.47 MANILA 34:

POPOV, this is MANILA 34 over.

1346.51 POPOV35:

Go.

1346.55 MANILA 34:

POPOV 4, MANILA 34 over.

1347.01 POPOV35:

Go.

1347.02 MANILA 34:

We are getting an initial brief that there was one killed and one wounded, over.

1347.09 POPOV35:

Copy. RTB (return to base).

1347.18 POPOV35:

I’m going to be sick.

1347.24 POPOV36:

Ah f***.

1347.48 POPOV35:

Did you hear?

1347.51 POPOV36:

Yeah, this sucks.

1347.52 POPOV35:

We’re in jail dude.

1347.59 POPOV36:

Aaaahhhh.

1348.12 SKY CHIEF:

MANILA this is SKY CHIEF over.

1348.18 MANILA34:

This is MANILA 34, send SKY CHIEF.

1348.22 COSTA58:

SKY CHIEF, SKY CHIEF. COSTA 58.

1348.25 MANILA HOTEL:

SKY CHIEF, this is MANILA HOTEL.

1348.30 COSTA58:

SKY CHIEF, SKY CHIEF. COSTA 58.

1348.41 SKY CHIEF:

Relaying for TWINACT, the A-10s are running against friendlies.

1348.47 COSTA58:

POPOV 35, this is COSTA58. Relaying message for TWINACT. Abort, abort.

1348.54 SKY CHIEF:

MANILA how copy A-10s are running against friendlies. Abort. Over.

1349.07 COSTA58:

From TWINACT, abort, abort.

1349. 11 POPOV35:

POPOV 35 aborting.

1349.14 COSTA58:

We will relay that back to TWINACT.

1349.18 POPOV36:

F***. God f***ing s***.

1350.21 POPOV36:

Dammit. F***ing damn it.

1351.17 P0POV36:

God dammit. F*** me dead (weeping).

1351.25 POPOV35:

You with me?

1351.27 POPOV36:

Yeah.

1351.30 POPOV35:

They did say there were no friendlies.

1351.33 POPOV36:

Yeah, I know that thing with the orange panels is going to screw us. They look like orange rockets on top.

1351.48 POPOV35:

Your tape still on?

1351.49 POPOV36:

Yeah.

1351.54 POPOV35:

Mine is end of tape.

Transcript ends.

The row over the refusal by American authorities to release a cockpit recording of a United States pilot opening fire on British forces in Iraq took a new turn today when The Sun published a transcript of the material.

The story, tagged World Exclusive on the paper's front page, was backed up by the newspaper's website, where the 15-minute recording could be viewed.

In the recording, the pilot of one of two US A-10 Thunderbolt jets involved in the attack says, after they realise their mistake: "We're in jail dude".

The other pilot, who opened fire, weeps, saying: "God dammit."

The tape is a recording of the moment that one of the jets launched two devastating attacks on a British armoured convoy, killing Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull.

An inquest into L/Cpl Hull's death was adjourned by Oxfordshire Deputy Assistant Coroner Andrew Walker last week, after the Ministry of Defence refused to agree to the hearing seeing a tape of the incident taken by one of the attacking aircraft's flight data recorder.

Mr Walker said he "had no choice" but to delay his verdict until the Government produced the recording, and added that the ministry's failure to get authorisation to show it was a "matter of profound regret".

The ministry said the United States authorities regarded the material as classified, and it therefore could not be shown without their consent.

The Ministry of Defence initially told L/Cpl Hull's family the recording did not exist, but it found its way into the hands of Oxford coroner Andrew Walker, who is hearing the inquest into the soldier's death.

The ministry today refused today to comment on the videotape's contents.

The transcript discloses a series of errors immediately before the attack, near Basra in southern Iraq on March 28, 2003.

On several occasions the pilots, a Major and a Lieutenant Colonel, both believed to be reservists who had never been in action before, say they can see orange panels on top of the armoured vehicles, which were used to identify them as coalition, rather than Iraqi, forces.

But they convince themselves that the orange panels are enemy rocket launchers after being told that there are no friendly forces in the area.

The pilots, who were in contact with US Marine Corps Forward Air Controllers who were embedded with British ground units, were on a mission to destroy Iraqi artillery and rocket launchers dug in 25 miles north of Basra.

L/Cpl Hull, 25, from Windsor, Berkshire, died in the incident and four other members of the Household Cavalry Regiment were injured.

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: "A copy of the video was used as evidence by the Board of Inquiry's (BOI) investigation into the incident.

"This recording is the property of the United States Government and the MoD does not have the right to release it without their permission.

"When the BOI findings were released to the family we did inform them that some classified material had been withheld, but we did not specify its exact nature.

"There has never been any intention to deliberately deceive or mislead L/Cpl of Horse Hull's family."

Speaking after last week's adjournment, widow Susan Hull said she was "not surprised, but very disappointed".

The US Embassy said authorities were looking at whether the tape could be declassified.

Official David Johnson told BBC Radio that the US had been working with the British Government to provide them with "materials which help them understand what went on", adding "Under our law and our procedures we are very open with your Government in providing them with information which is classified."

Asked why the US was withholding the tape, Mr Johnson said US soldiers were sent into combat under certain laws which should not be changed "after the fact".

He went on: "We expect our forces to operate under a set of predictable laws which are established before the fact.

"One thing I want to make very clear is our heart goes out to this family. This is an extraordinary tragedy that they have endured and we are very sorry for what has happened.

"But I think that does not take away from the need to have a body of law which is followed and a set of expectations we can have our combat forces - yours and ours - go by when they go into battle."

He said he had no way to confirm whether the video was accurate, but if it was true it demonstrated that the pilots involved were "sickened" by what had happened.

Mr Johnson added that the US would declassify the tape unless it would put soldiers at future risk.

"I can't tell you what is revealed by this - I'm not a technical expert -which may put forces at risk in the future, so that's something we have to be very careful about," he said.

"If indeed it can be declassified, of course it will."

Mr Johnson said it would not be accurate to say the British Government had been applying "pressure" on the US over the incident.

But he said: "We have had discussions with (Constitutional Affairs Minister) Ms Harman. We have had discussions with other officials in your Government as well about how we could be of assistance in this case."

The transcript includes repeated questions from the pilots to the air controller about the location of friendly forces.

It also reveals that doubt about the orange panels on the British convoy continued up to the point that the pilots were given final clearance to attack.

General Patrick Cordingley, who commanded British troops during the first Gulf War, said it was a "pity" that the tape had been released.

"It's obviously going to stir up the British press and the danger is they will be calling for blood," he told BBC Radio.

He could "fully understand" why the family and others wanted the tape to be released, he said, adding: "There will always be these mistakes in war."

Stewart Purvis, who was editor-in-chief of ITN when reporter Terry Lloyd was killed by so-called friendly fire, said there were clear "parallels"

between the two incidents.

In both, the US authorities had refused to co-operate, the Ministry of Defence WAS unable to force them to co-operate and the victim's families had been "lied to", he told the BBC.

:: The Ministry of Defence told the Coroner on Wednesday January 31 that National Security meant that journalists at the inquest should be banned from making any mention of the colour of smoke deployed by coalition forces when there has been a friendly fire incident, and the colour of the panels which put on top of military vehicles to identify them as friendly to other coalition force.

Press Association Aislinn Simpson said she and BBC journalist Angus Crawford pointed out to the ministry's lawyers that the details of the red smoke and orange panels were in the MoD Board of Inquiry report published on the ministry's own website.

The following day, the lawyers told the Coroner that the colours were no longer an issue since they understood the information was on the website and therefore in the public domain.

But the Board of Inquiry report itself vanished from the website.

An MoD official said the report was removed because the ministry had been "made aware" that it contained information pertinent to national security.

MORE than 100 prominent British Jews have formed a breakaway group in response to a perceived pro-Israel bias among the country's main Jewish organisations.

The group of British Jews yesterday declared independence from the country's Jewish establishment, arguing that it puts support for Israel above the human rights of Palestinians.

Independent Jewish Voices published an open letter calling for a freer debate about the Middle East within the Jewish community.

Among the more than 130 signatories are actors Stephen Fry and Mike Leigh, author Harold Pinter, novelist Jenny Diski and fashion designer Nicole Farhi, as well as leading academics such as Eric Hobsbawm and Susie Orbach. "We come together in the belief that the broad spectrum of opinion among the Jewish population of this country is not reflected by those institutions which claim authority to represent the Jewish community as a whole," the letter says.

Jewish leaders in Britain, it argues, "put support for the policies of an occupying power above the human rights of an occupied people" in conflict with Jewish principles of justice and compassion.

The statement does not name the institutions it is criticising. But one signatory, Brian Klug, an Oxford philosopher, singles out the Board of Deputies of British Jews for calling itself "the voice of British Jewry" while devoting "much of the time and resources of its international division to the defence of Israel".

Dr Klug also criticises Britain's chief rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks, for telling a pro-Israeli rally in London last year: "Israel, you make us proud."

Dr Klug writes: "Others felt roughly the opposite emotion."

The emergence of the group, which calls itself a "network of individuals", comes at a time of ferment over attitudes towards Israel, stoked by the war in Lebanon and the bloodshed in the occupied territories.

The question of whether radical opposition to Israeli policies amounts to anti-Semitism is central to the debate.

A parallel struggle is under way in the US where the American Jewish Committee published an article accusing liberal Jews, such as the historian Tony Judt, of fuelling anti-Semitism by questioning Israel's right to exist.

Fearing other soldiers might do the same, the US military is trying to strike down Watada before it evolves into a national issue. The US Army has decided to court-martial Watada, but the soldier remains firm in his decision not to accept Iraqi deployment.
His conscience, he said, had overtaken him. He told the world what he had privately told his superiors months earlier: that he believed the war was illegal and immoral, and he would play no role in it, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Ehren Watada even offered his resignation from the military, a resignation that the army 'respectfully rejected'. Seeing this, Watada offered to fight in Afghanistan, and once again the military rejected the idea.
"A soldier cannot choose where and when he fights" was the honest reply from the military chiefs.
Despite the fact that hundreds of soldiers have voiced their criticism for the Iraq war on personal blogs over the internet, nobody before Watada actually refused to fight. The controversial decision by Watada has shook the military as it might be a threat to their war efforts.
"I'm not afraid to fight," said Watada in a strongly worded statement.
"I'm not a pacifist. If our country needed defending, I'd be the first one to pick up a rifle. But I won't be part of a war that I believe is criminal."