KABUL, Jan 6: Lawmakers in Afghanistan said on Tuesday that 2,000 Afghan youths were ready to go to Gaza to defend Palestinians from Israeli attacks, warning the strikes could lead to a worldwide Muslim uprising.

A declaration drawn up by the legislators, who are not sitting but met in a special session to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip, was read out to journalists by the secretary of the Lower House, Abdul Satar Khawasi.

Lawmakers called the strikes, which began on Dec 27 in response to rocket attacks from Gaza, “barbaric and tyrannical.” “Some 2,000 youths from different provinces of our country are ready to go to the Gaza Strip and defend the helpless Palestinian Muslims,” the statement said, without giving details.

It warned that if “invasions” of Palestinian territory were to continue, the defence of Muslim lands would grow into a “worldwide uprising by... Muslims of the world against infidels.” The lawmakers also accused US President George Bush of “justifying this horrifying Israeli crime” by refusing to stand against it, and chided other world leaders for keeping silent.

There have been protests for several days across Afghanistan against Israel’s military offensive, in which more than 580 Palestinians, including nearly 100 children, have been killed.

The protesters have also criticised Israel’s ally, the United States, Afghanistan’s main provider of military and financial support in its fight against an Islamic insurgency and attempts to rebuild after decades of war.—AFP