The British Broadcasting Corporation faced increasing pressure Sunday to reverse its decision not to broadcast a funds plea for the people of the Gaza Strip, dpa reported.
Latest to join those urging the publicly-funded broadcaster allow the plea to be issued over its airwaves was the Anglican Church's number two in the country, Archbishop of York John Sentamu.
"This is not an appeal by Hamas asking for arms but by the Disasters Emergency Committee asking for relief. By declining their request, the BBC has already taken sides and forsaken impartiality," he said.
The BBC says its impartiality and objectivity would be endangered by appearing to take sides with the victims of the recent Israeli military offensive. Rival channels ITV, Channel 4 and Five have all changed their minds and are to broadcast the plea.
The funds plea - issued by the Disasters Emergency Committees comprising high-profile charity organisations including Oxfam and thre British red Cross - aims to alleviate what Development Aid Minister Douglas Alexander called the "immense suffering" in the Gaza Strip.
Alexander called on the broadcasters to reverse their decision, while anti-war demonstrators called on supporters to demonstrate outside the BBC London headquarters.
The BBC quoted its Director General Mark Thompson as saying that by airing the appeal, the BBC would risk reducing public confidence in its impartial coverage of the conflict.
Sentamu countered that it was "not a row about impartiality but rather about humanity", adding: "This situation is akin to that of British military hospitals who treat prisoners of war as a result of their duty under the Geneva convention. They do so because they identify need rather than cause."
