FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 8 2025
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The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) unequivocally condemns Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli security cabinet’s vote to take military control of Gaza City. This move is nothing more than smoke and mirrors—an attempt to gaslight the world and distract from their true objective: the complete takeover of the entire Gaza Strip.
This confirms what ADC has warned since the first bomb fell on Gaza in October 2023.
“For decades, Israel has pursued an exterminatory campaign against the Palestinian people, pairing mass killing and starvation in Gaza with relentless land confiscation and settler expansion in the occupied West Bank,” said ADC National Executive Director, Abed Ayoub. “Israeli forces continue to widen the genocide through repeated air‑strikes in Syria and Yemen, and cross‑border assaults in Lebanon that violate a fragile ceasefire.”
This morning, Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan to take military control of Gaza City as part of a five‑point program that includes disarming Hamas, returning hostages, demilitarizing Gaza, imposing Israeli “security control,” and installing an “alternative civil administration” that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority. Israeli officials said the IDF will prepare to seize Gaza City while pushing civilians outside designated combat zones. This decision follows Netanyahu’s televised statement that Israel intends to take control of the entire Strip.
Netanyahu’s open intention to re‑occupy Gaza exposes the real objective: permanent Israeli hegemony from the river to the sea. Talk of a brief “security perimeter” is a thin veil for the wholesale theft of Palestinian land, mirroring the accelerated annexation drive in the West Bank, the Golan Heights in Syria, and incursions into Lebanon.
Israeli hostage families have condemned the cabinet’s decision, warning it will endanger the remaining captives rather than bring them home. Israel’s IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, has also cautioned that a full‑scale takeover would trap the army in Gaza and put hostages at heightened risk.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, urged Israel to halt the plan immediately, warning of “catastrophic” consequences and further mass displacement. By continuing to back Israel as it deepens its military occupation, Washington isolates itself from the broad international consensus.
“The United States’ continued, unconditional military and diplomatic backing has emboldened Israel to ignore international law, torpedo ceasefire negotiations, and obstruct desperately needed humanitarian aid. That support is destroying what little is left of American credibility on the world stage,” Ayoub added.
Netanyahu announced his intention on Fox News and then rushed Cabinet approval, signaling he will proceed irrespective of U.S. mediation or interests—showing allegiance to no one but himself. This posture sidelines Washington and strips away any remaining U.S. leverage to secure a ceasefire and a hostage deal.
ADC calls on President Donald Trump and the U.S. Congress to immediately and completely end all U.S. military aid and arms sales to Israel. We also urge state, county, and municipal governments to investigate, prosecute, or deny entry to any individual, including members of the IDF, who are credibly implicated in war crimes or crimes against humanity.
ADC further demands targeted sanctions and divestment from companies and financial institutions that facilitate Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies. We call for the full enforcement of existing UN resolutions concerning Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Syria, and Lebanon.
Enough is enough!
ADC stands with the Palestinian people and with all who refuse to be complicit in genocide, apartheid, and colonial theft.