LONDON — Emotional criticism of the British Broadcasting Corp. over its refusal to air a charity appeal for the people of Gaza intensified Tuesday as more legislators demanded the BBC change course.

More than 110 British lawmakers have endorsed motions criticizing the BBC's decision to keep the Gaza appeal off the air, said legislator Richard Burden.

Frustrated legislators met late Tuesday afternoon with top BBC executives but the heated discussions produced no compromise, said legislator Jeremy Corbyn, who has helped spearhead opposition to the BBC in Parliament.

Some 35 legislators met with BBC director-general Mark Thompson but failed to convince him that the charity appeal must be broadcast, Corbyn said.

"I was extremely angry and quite discouraged," Corbyn said. "Thompson was very bullish and very repetitive, saying they couldn't broadcast the appeal and still be impartial, which I see as nonsense. He also said they couldn't be sure the aid would get through, which was contradicted by the United Nations."

There were signs that the highly controversial charity appeal is succeeding even though Britain's two major broadcasters _ the publicly funded BBC and Rupert Murdoch's Sky News _ have said they would not allow it to be shown on their networks.

The issue has generated wide attention in Britain, where many politicians, academics and protesters have sharply criticized BBC and Sky News for declining to air the appeal.

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The broadcasters say they cannot try to raise money for Palestinians in Gaza without compromising their journalistic impartiality.

Asked for comment, a BBC spokeswoman said the BBC's position has already been explained fully on Thompson's blog, and has not changed. She demanded anonymity in line with company policy.

Thompson has said that to show a fundraising appeal that included a direct plea for donations to help the people of Gaza would amount to "backing one side" in the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.

He has been joined by executives at Sky News who maintain they would sacrifice objectivity by airing an appeal for donations.

Despite the inability to get exposure on BBC and Sky News, the aid agencies behind the appeal have been able to raise 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) for Palestinians in Gaza, said Shaista Aziz, a spokeswoman for the Disaster Emergency Committee.

"We're pleased with the results so far," she said. "We appreciate the support of the British public."

She said that other broadcasters, including independent radio stations in Britain and the Al-Jazeera International television channel, have expressed a desire to air the appeal, which was written and produced by Britain's ITV network at the committee's request.

"We hope to have clearance for that and make that available tomorrow," she said, indicating that ITV is being asked for permission to allow the appeal to be used by others.

The disaster committee includes a number of prominent aid agencies, including the Red Cross, Oxfam, and Save the Children. In the past they have raised money for victims of war, famine and natural disaster, with the help of broadcasters like BBC and Sky News.

If the BBC or Sky News were to air an appeal, each would be expected to produce its own fundraiser rather than using the one produced by ITV.

The Gaza appeal, which was shown on several television stations Monday night and has since been placed on the Internet, shows crying and injured children seeking help in the chaos of Gaza.

"These people simply need your help," intones a solemn male voiceover as the images portray the impact of three weeks of intense fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in Gaza. The fighting killed more than 1200 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.

Some of the images show elderly Palestinian women crying as they stand on the rubble-filled spot where their homes used to stand.

The narrator, who is not identified, describes how the sewer system has collapsed, leading to serious public health risks, and describes the hospitals as overwhelmed and under-equipped. He adds that a donation of just 25 pounds ($35) would provide blankets for eight children.

"Please donate now," the appeal concludes, offering detailed instructions on how to send money.

The Israeli government has tried to stay out of the fray, declining to take a position on whether the broadcast should be shown.