Washington, DC | www.adc.org | November 14, 2019
Over the past three days, Israel has been indiscriminately bombarding and murdering Palestinians in Gaza. As of today, the Israeli military aerial attacks have killed 34 and injured more than 100 Palestinians; eight of the victims came from one family. ADC calls on the U.S. and international community to hold Israel accountable for its repeated gross human rights violations against the Palestinian people. The international community must take action to immediately stop Israel from its military air campaign against the Gaza Strip, and to halt targeting and killing Palestinians.
Israel continues to commit human rights violations against the Palestinian people with impunity. The Trump administration, and current U.S. policy towards the Palestinians, is also to blame for the ongoing siege and bloodshed in Gaza. Furthermore, the responses Democratic candidates for President, such as Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg have been tone deaf and reiterating the failed U.S. policy which has plagued the region for decades.
In 2018, Israel killed over 200 Palestinians in Gaza, including children, humanitarian aid workers, and marked members of the press. In 2018 alone, Israel has killed 46 children in Gaza and 52 children throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Though a ceasefire was reached early this morning, Israel’s grip on Gaza continues to suffocate the population. Israel’s eleven-year illegal siege of Gaza has created what the UN defines as “one of the world’s largest open-air prisons.” For the Two Million Palestinians confined in the Gaza Strip, over 95% of the water is deemed undrinkable, electricity is limited to only 3-6 hours per day, and the deteriorating health care system operates in a constant crisis mode. The U.N. reports that the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is so severe that Gaza will be unlivable by the year 2020. ADC support the UN’s repeated calls on Israel to lift the siege on Gaza.
ADC calls on the U.S. administration to uphold its domestic laws that stipulate the U.S. must immediately halt financial aid and training to foreign military units that commit gross violations of human rights, as it is stated in the U.S. Leahy law. Israel’s aggression is in clear violation of the Leahy Law. The U.S. has a responsibility to uphold the values of human rights, peace, and dignity for all people. The Palestinian people are not an exception.