Britain's David Cameron writes letter of gratitude to Sayeeda Warsi over Gaza crisis

United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron wrote a letter in response to the resignation of his cabinet member Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who tweeted on Tuesday about her decision to resign as minister, as an act of protest against United Kingdom policy on Gaza.

In the letter, Cameron expressed regret over Warsi's resignation and thanked her for the continuous service in the government.

Cameron also said that he understood her viewpoint on the current Gaza crisis.

“I realise that this must not have been an easy decision for you to make and very much regret that we were not able to speak about your decision beforehand. I understand your strength of feeling on the current crisis in the Middle East – the situation in Gaza is intolerable," Cameron stated in the letter.

Warsi has been actively tweeting about the month-long Israeli offensive on Gaza, that has claimed the lives of close to 2,000 Palestinians and 67 Israelis.

According to Warsi, she is no longer able to support the UK’s policy on the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

“Our policy has always been consistently clear: we support a negotiated two state solution as the only way to resolve this conflict once and for all and to allow Israelis and Palestinians to live safely in peace,” said Cameron.

“Of course, we believe that Israel has the right to defend itself. But, we have consistently made clear our grave concerns about the heavy toll of civilian casualties and have called on Israel to exercise restraint, and to find ways to bring this fighting to an end.

"As part of that, we have consistently called for an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire,” he added.

Warsi’s departure is viewed as a blow to Cameron’s administration, whose coalition government has drawn criticism for not adopting a tougher line against Israel's aggressions in Gaza.

Warsi's parents were Pakistani immigrants and she was made a member of the House of Lords in 2007.

The 43-year-old Warsi was appointed to Cameron's cabinet when his coalition government took power in 2010 and while she initially had a high media profile, her star had faded in recent years.

In 2012, she was shuffled out of the full cabinet to the post of minister of state at the Foreign Office and minister for faith and communities.

“As the minister for faith and communities, working with Eric Pickles in the Department for Communities and Local Government, you played an important role in the government's integration agenda – building more united communities, tackling hate crime, harnessing the power of faith groups and championing Britain's common heritage.

At the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, your hard work in tackling persecution around the world, between faiths and within faiths has had a lasting impact, as has your work to put the UK at the heart of the global Islamic finance system,” said Cameron.