Home > News > GAZA CIVILIANS DESERVE THE PROTECTION OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
GAZA CIVILIANS DESERVE THE PROTECTION OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
Scores of Children among the Innocent Killed or Harmed by Israelis Attacks
January 5, 2009
The
Islamic Society of North America calls upon all Americans of conscience
to
demand that our government uphold the protection of all civilians,
especially children, in the Israeli war on Gaza. We continue to call
all sides – Israeli and Palestinian – to cease violent actions and
return to diplomacy to solve grievances.
John Ging, the head of
the
United Nations relief agency in Gaza has called the Gaza population
“trapped, traumatized, terrorized” due to the Israeli assault. Dr.
Erik Fosse, a Norwegian physician working at the Shifa Hospital stated
yesterday that about
30 percent of the casualties at the hospital were
children.
The Guardian newspaper reports: “Most Gazans can only
cower in terror in whatever shelter they can find – .”
Civilians
have no safe place to hide: homes, houses of worship, schools and
markets have all been destroyed with no warning.
Parents have no means
of protecting their children. The Independent UK newspaper reports one
mother’s “Sophie’s Choice” agonizing dilemma: “Every time a shell is
fired from the sea I rush to carry my children out of the house. But
how and what should I do, who should I carry first and who should I
leave for a next [trip]?”
Wounded civilians, including
children, have no safety. On Sunday, a paramedic tending to the
wounded was killed by an Israeli airstrike. When his family went to
the hospital to claim his body, bombs
were dropped on the hospital and
another three people were killed and 17 wounded.
Families who
escape violent death and injury from bombing and shelling are at risk
of serious illness due to the lack of water and electricity.
Christopher Gunness of the United Nations stated today: "One million
people are without electricity. Crucially the hospitals in Gaza are
running on emergency generators.
This in my book amounts to a
humanitarian crisis.” It is important to note that Gaza has
been under siege and blockade for over a year, which means that food
and other basic resources were already scarce before the invasion.
As
a result, over 60% of the Gaza population is under the poverty line in
a community where median age is 17 years (it is 37 years in the US):
this means that hundreds of thousands of children who are now cowering
under shelling are already impoverished and malnourished. Our
government seems to dismiss the suffering of Gazan civilians by
expressing unconditional support for Israel. The United States has
also blocked protection for civilians by vetoing a UN Security Council
statement that called upon Israel to cease its military action.
According to the Associated Press, US Senators Harry Reid and Dick
Durbin — the top two Democrats in the chamber — and Senate Republican
leader Mitch McConnell “all described Israel's actions as
understandable.” Such unconditional support for blatant violations of
human rights by the Israeli government does nothing to further the
cause of peace.
We are confident that
even if Americans believe
that Israel is justified in using force to stop Hamas rockets, they do
not support the indiscriminate exercise of violence, including the
killing, wounding and terrorizing of children. We cannot accept a
policy of “by any means necessary” in conflicts. The standing of the
United States as a moral leader in the world suffered greatly in the
wake of the Abu Ghraib scandal and other violations of ethics and
international law in recent years. We now have the opportunity to show
the world that we believe in impartial justice and uphold the value and
dignity of all human life. Let us not squander this opportunity.
The
Islamic Society of North America has been clear in its rejection of
terrorism, including when it is committed by Hamas. Suicide bombings
and rocket attacks on Israeli civilian populations are unethical and
unlawful. We believe that all force which kills or harms civilians is
abhorrent. The Israeli action in which large numbers of civilians,
including the children of Gaza, are being killed and are suffering
severe physical and emotional trauma, is unethical and unlawful.
We
believe, along with many other advocates of a peaceful resolution of
the conflict, including the pro-Israel, pro-peace American Jewish group
“J Street” that
there must be “strong and immediate American diplomatic
leadership to bring an end to the violence through an immediate
ceasefire.” We ask all Americans to demand this of their elected
representatives. Contact information for your elected officials can be
found at the following website:
http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml. Contact the foreign policy team of President-Elect Obama at the following website:
http://change.gov/agenda/foreign_policy_agenda/.
The
Islamic Society of North America believes that the conflict between
Israel and the Palestinians cannot and should not be solved with
violence. Diplomacy, education, compromise and courageous action must
be exercised by Israelis, Palestinians and Americans so that two proud
people – Israelis and Palestinians, can live together with peace and
dignity. The Islamic Society of North America is committed to continue
exploring common ground with our partners in the American Jewish
community and to continue to dialogue about the issues over which we
disagree – including the best way to achieve peace and justice in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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