Civil rights and advocacy group calls for U.S. to demand ceasefire across Gaza and secure release of all hostages in both Gaza and Israel
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/9/2023) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today said that the Israeli government’s announcement that it plans to begin instituting four-hour “pauses” in the bombing of Gaza City while continuing to bomb southern Gaza “makes no sense.”
CAIR said: “We need a ceasefire across Gaza, not the ethnic cleansing of northern Gaza.”
On Thursday, President Biden stated that he couldn’t foresee any situation in which Israel would halt its military campaign in Gaza, even with the thousands of civilian casualties. “None. No possibility,” he emphasized to a reporter when asked about the possibility of a Gaza ceasefire.
SEE: Joe Biden On the Chances of a Gaza Cease-Fire: ‘None. No Possibility.‘
Israel will start to implement four-hour pauses in fighting in areas of northern Gaza each day, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby announced Thursday. The pauses are purportedly designed to allow civilians to evacuate to the south of Gaza, where Israel is also bombing.
SEE: Israel agrees to 4-hour pauses in Gaza each day: White House
https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/congressional-progressives-reject-humanitarian-pause-demand-ceasefire-104765564?id=104617602
In a statement, CAIR Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“Instituting a four-hour pause on Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of northern Gaza so that Palestinians can flee their homes and face Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of southern Gaza makes no sense. We need a ceasefire across Gaza, not the ethnic cleansing of northern Gaza.
“President Biden already has the power to demand an end to Netanyahu’s self-serving campaign of mass murder, secure the release of everyone wrongfully held in both Gaza and Israel, and then pursue a just, lasting peace. He only needs the heart and courage to exercise that power.”
He noted that earlier this week, CAIR called a threat by the Israeli government to bomb a children’s hospital in Gaza “pure barbarism” and reiterated its call on the Biden administration to demand an immediate ceasefire. CAIR also condemned the shooting of Palestinian woman at a checkpoint by Israeli forces and Israeli airstrikes on South Gaza.
Also this week, CAIR called on the Biden administration to demand the Israeli government release Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi and end the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank by government-backed settlers. CAIR also condemned the Israeli bombing of a Gaza water reservoir and reiterated its call for an immediate ceasefire.
SEE: CAIR Calls on Pres. Biden to Demand Israeli Govt Release Ahed Tamimi, End Ethnic Cleansing in West Bank
CAIR said the far-right Israeli government’s destruction of Al-Azhar University in Gaza, another massacre of civilians in a refugee camp and the deadly bombing of a U.N. facility housing refugees are further proof that the international community must act to stop Israel’s “genocidal campaign” targeting the Palestinian people.
SEE: CAIR Says Destruction of Gaza University, Deadly Attacks on U.N. Facilities and Refugee Camp Shows International Community Must Act to Stop Israeli Government’s ‘Genocidal Campaign’
CAIR condemned a repeat Israeli attack on the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, which left an unknown number of people killed and injured, and said it is “running out of words” to describe the American Muslim community’s disappointment with the Biden administration’s refusal to demand a ceasefire.
CAIR called on President Biden to “stop the madness” after Israeli forces massacred more than 100 Palestinians in bombings of the same camp, tortured naked Palestinian prisoners on camera in the West Bank, forced a blindfolded captive to shout “long live Israel,” and used a tank to blow up a fleeing civilian vehicle in northern Gaza.
CAIR recently said it is “unacceptable” for the Biden administration to continue refusing to seek a ceasefire in Gaza despite the fact that many American travelers and hostages are under Israeli bombardment that has already killed more than 8,000, including thousands of children.
CAIR previously called Israeli government’s indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza “genocide” after the death toll of Palestinians topped 5,000.
CAIR also said U.S. officials will be complicit in the ethnic cleansing of Gaza unless they intervene after the Israeli government announced that any Palestinian civilians who refuse to leave their homes in north Gaza could be identified as accomplices with a terrorist organization, and presumably targeted for killing by Israeli forces.
[NOTE: More than 95,000 Americans have used CAIR’s action alert to contact their members of Congress and call for an end to the violence and the renewal of U.S.-led efforts to end the occupation. SEE: Urge Your Members of Congress to Address Root Cause of Mideast Violence (cair.com) ]
BACKGROUNDER:
CAIR condemned a deadly Israeli airstrike targeting the Greek Orthodox Church campus in Gaza that killed 17 people.
Israel’s far-right defense minister has said that Israel is fighting “human animals” and that the entire Gaza population would be treated accordingly through a “complete siege” on the Gaza Strip that block all supplies of electricity, food and fuel. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres he is “deeply distressed” by that blockade.
According to the Geneva Convention, states must allow the free passage of medical supplies, food, and other relief supplies for the benefit of a civilian population.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court states that it a war crime to: “Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, includin[sic] impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions.”
Collective punishment is also prohibited by Article 33 of the Geneva Conventions, which states: “No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.”
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-999-8292, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com