A POLITICIAN has spoken of his ‘heartbreak’ after witnessing the humanitarian crisis in Palestine.

Councillor Ibrar Khan spent 10 days in the Palestinian territories and was given a tour of Bethlehem, Hebron, Jerusalem, Nazareth and Ramallah.

The trip was organised by Andy Burnham MP and Councillor Khan was joined by Rochdale’s prospective Labour parliamentary candidate Simon Danczuk during the self-funded study tour.

They now hope that the visit will strengthen ties between the region and Rochdale.

Councillor Khan said: "It is heartbreaking to see young malnourished children playing in rubble after they have had their houses demolished by the Israeli defence force.

"The sense of oppression is totally overwhelming. Innocent children are trying to make sense of shattered lives against a backdrop of barbed wire, demolished houses, tanks and soldiers with guns.

"We went to the United Nations refugee camps and saw thousands of dispossessed people who have had their only means of survival taken away from them."

During the trip he met the mayors of Bethlehem and Nazareth plus the Palestinian health minister to get a better understanding of how they were managing the conflict.

He added: "Some of my constituents in Falinge are Palestinian and they have often told me about the problems.

"I wanted to visit to see with my own eyes what was happening and it was a good opportunity for me to learn more about the Palestinian issue."

Mr Danczuk added he had been "sickened" by the human rights abuses he had seen during the visit and stressed that a huge collective effort was needed to help find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

"It is impossible not to be affected by the appalling level of child poverty and violence," he said.

"Our foreign secretary, David Miliband recently said that 2009 will be a chance to achieve comprehensive peace and stability in the Middle East. I very much hope this is the case and I applaud his recent efforts to try and get Syria involved in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

He added: "The US President elect, Barack Obama, has also previously said that ‘no one is suffering more than the Palestinian people’ and I hope he will be unwavering in his commitment to promote the peace process."