Washington, DC, October 3 — Today a protest and vigil against the killing of over 50 Palestinian civilians, many of them children, by the Israeli military will be held outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. The protest is scheduled for Tuesday, October 3, from 4:30-6:30 pm.
The Palestinian people have been demonstrating since the highly provocative intrusion on Thursday by Likud Party leader Ariel Sharon into one of the holiest Muslim sites, the Haram Ash-Sharif, in occupied East Jerusalem. Sharon’s visit was openly touted as a demonstration of Israel’s self-proclaimed sovereignty over all of East Jerusalem, which UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 476 insist Israel must withdraw from in exchange for peace. The Israeli reaction has included indiscriminate use of live ammunition, tanks, helicopter gunships and even anti-tank missiles against unarmed demonstrators, leading to the widespread deaths among Palestinian civilians. Among the latest victims is an 18 month old baby girl, Sarah, shot to death by Israeli settlers who have been actively involved in the shooting of unarmed Palestinians.
The indiscriminate and murderous use of live ammunition by Israeli troops was clearly demonstrated in the shocking footage of the shooting of 12 year old Mohammed Al-Durah, gunned down in cold blood by Israeli snipers, which horrified millions of television viewers the world over. Yesterday, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the nation’s largest Arab-American membership organziation, called upon the United States government to intervene to stop the killing, and demanded that the international community provide protection for the Palestinian people living under brutal Israeli occupation in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
The protest at the Israeli Embassy in the nation’s capital is part of an international outcry against Israel’s extreme brutality against Palestinian civilians. Yesterday, hundreds of people marched on the Israeli counsilates in Los Angles and Chicago. Protests have also taken place or are scheduled for New York City, Ann Arbour, Houston, Montreal, London, Detroit, Houston, and San Francisco. For details of these events, see ADC’s website events section,
What: Protest and Vigil at the Israeli Embassy (intersection of Van Ness and International Drive, Washington, DC)
When: Tuesday, October 3, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
For information contact ADC at (202) 244-2990 or e-mail: nmohamad@adc.org.