Washington, DC | www.adc.org | April 3, 2024 – Over the past week the genocide by Israel has continued to obliterate Gaza and massacre Palestinians. After a brutal two-week siege of Al Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, Israel’s occupation forces withdrew from its vicinity after torturing, killing, and detaining Palestinians in the complex. Shortly after the horrific images from Al Shifa emerged, the occupation forces directly targeted an aid convoy from the World Central Kitchen (WCK), killing seven humanitarian aid workers from Australia, Palestine, Poland, the United Kingdom, and a dual citizen of the United States/Canada. In tandem, as the news and horrific scenes were being disseminated across the world, the Israeli government passed the “Al Jazeera Law,” banning the only international media agency broadcasting Israel’s commission of international crimes in Gaza, from operations.
The escalation of brutality and genocidal operations by Israel is happening as the Biden Administration continues to provide weapons and political protection to Israel. Rather than call on the Israeli regime to end the genocide, Biden has rewarded them for their actions by allowing for massive weapons transfer last week. This is a clear indication of the Biden Administration’s priorities. The Biden Administration is helping Israel expand their military operations into neighboring countries. Israel has regularly used American weapons to bomb Lebanon and Syria, with no repudiation from the U.S.
Make no mistake – the real and near possibility of a wider regional war is not in the best interest of the U.S. The American public does not support more wars, and that is being reflected in Biden’s poll numbers. Last evening nearly 50,000 voters in Wisconsin voted uninstructed in the Democratic Primary. Biden beat Donald Trump by only 20,000 votes in 2020. The math is clear – supporting genocide is a losing strategy. The desire to see an end to the genocide is not only coming from Arab and Muslim voters – it is shared by voters across the political spectrum, including young progressive voters.
The images and testimonies that have come from one of Al Shifa in Gaza are beyond comprehension and represent a new level of depravity. Photo and video graphic evidence show bodies of children and adults strewn across a completely burnt and destroyed complex and when combined with testimonial evidence of horrifying field executions and torture, provide definitive proof of Israel’s genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Abhorrent on a human level, there is no excuse for continued US support and participation in Israel’s crimes against humanity.
The killing of the WCK staff has immediate ramifications. ANERA announced that the organization is suspending operations in Gaza. This follows the political attacks on UNRWA, leaving no major humanitarian organizations out of Gaza during the time they are needed most. It is important to note that NGOs like WCK share the details of every single movement, meaning that the Israeli military knew where, when, and exactly who was inside the targeted vehicle. It must also be noted that even before this crime, Israeli forces had regularly denied humanitarian aid and access, and attacked ambulances and aid convoys despite coordination.
In tandem, as the news and horrific scenes were being disseminated across the world, the Israeli government passed the “Al Jazeera Law,” banning the only international media agency broadcasting The Israeli government’s ban on Al Jazeera, the only international broadcasting corporation with journalists inside Gaza, is a blatant act of censorship and a red herring designed to justify and conceal its ongoing silencing and killing of journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has found that since the start of the genocide in Gaza, at least 95 journalists have been killed – many of whom were Al Jazeera employees. In the last bombardment of Gaza, Israel targeted and bombed the building housing all international media, and has a long history of targeting Al Jazeera’s coverage and journalists (for example the assassination of Palestinian Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank) with a complete lack of accountability
Israel’s persistent attacks on medical facilities and its killings of aid workers and journalists are only a fraction of its commission of international crimes, namely genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The very idea that the United States is providing Israel, a state on trial for genocide, additional weapons, and coverage to continue the genocide, is a grave injustice. The Biden Administration must change course immediately to put an end to the genocide and stop taking the country down the path of a larger regional war.