"It is unthinkable for the Israeli cricket team to play in our backyard while these acts of aggression continue to take place," Faisal Hanjra, Head of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS), told Reuters Saturday, July 29.

Israel's cricket team is planned to play five matches in the European second division championship in Scotland from August 3-9.

"We plan to protest unless the proposed match is cancelled," added Hanjra.

The European Cricket Council, which is organizing the tournament, said it had no plans to cancel the Israelis.

FOSIS is the umbrella organization of Muslim student groups in colleges and universities throughout the UK and Ireland.

Earlier, it strongly condemned the Israeli onslaught on Lebanon and called on the British government to press for an immediate ceasefire.

Up to 600 Lebanese, mostly children and civilians, were killed and thousands injured when Israel launched a wide-scale offensive on Lebanon on the pretext of seeking the release of two Israeli soldiers captured by Hizbullah.

The hard-won infrastructure of the Arab country has been left in ruins, with Israel knocking out Beirut international airport, bombing ports, destroying bridges, setting power stations ablaze and reducing houses to rubble.

Continuing Protests

Protests continued around the world over the bloody Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

In Australia, hundreds of protestors, waving Lebanese and Palestinian flags, rallied outside a hotel in the western city of Perth on Saturday, where Australian Prime Minister John Howard was delivering a speech, Reuters said.

Many of the protestors carried banners reading "Bush's War of Terror".

Inside the hotel, Howard gave a speech at a political conference in which he attacked Hizbullah.

"It's not some kind of inspirational liberation organization, it's a terrorist organization," said Howard, a strong U.S. ally.

When Howard tried to drive away from the hotel, some of the protesters attempted to stop his car from moving and fought with police, showed television footage.

One protester carrying an Australian flag threw himself on the bonnet of Howard's car.

A day earlier, hundreds of Austrians demonstrated in Vienna, Austria, in protest of Israel's killings of innocent civilians in Lebanon.

The protestors gathered outside the palace of the Austrian chancellor, chanting slogans condemning the Israeli offensive.

Hundreds of protesters also gathered outside Downing Street in London Friday to protest the continuing Israeli offensive.

In Malaysia, thousands of protestors also took to the streets in front of a global security forum attended by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday.

Led by the son-in-law of Malaysia's prime minister, the protesters surged through riot police to stand at the front door of the forum venue in Kuala Lumpur, threatening to storm in unless Rice appeared to receive a protest memo.

"Rice get out!" the protesters chanted after they burned an American flag and Rice in effigy.

Thousands of Nigerians also protested following the Friday prayers in condemnation of the Israeli onslaught.

Source: islamonline.net