(WASHINGTON, DC – 12/5/2023) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the shooting of an unarmed Palestinian man in the West Bank.
Video posted online shows the man, reportedly with special needs, being detained by Israeli soldiers and then shot at point-blank range. His condition is unknown.
Also today, CAIR condemned an Israeli attack on another hospital in Gaza and said the Biden administration is actively participating in Israel’s “ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinian people.”
[NOTE: The Washington Post confirms that premature babies were left to die in a Gaza hospital after Israeli forces ordered the building evacuated. CAIR previously called for UN and U.S. probes of Israel’s actions after horrifying video showed the babies’ decaying corpses, partially eaten by stray dogs.]
Yesterday, CAIR condemned another “war crime of the day” – the slaughter of at least 50 civilians in airstrikes on two UN-run schools sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel has killed almost 16,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children in Gaza in recent weeks. Many more have been killed by Israeli occupation forces and illegal settlers in the West Bank.
“The violence by Israeli occupation forces and illegal settlers targeting Palestinians everywhere is a direct result of the systematic campaign of dehumanization of the Palestinian people over many decades, assisted by supporters of Israeli apartheid in our nation and worldwide,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “The only just solution is an end to the illegal occupation of Palestinian land and freedom for the Palestinian people.”
He noted that the Israeli government’s extremist leaders have declared that there are no innocent civilians in Gaza, justified cutting off water, electricity and other basic necessities because Palestinians are ‘human animals,’ embraced an ancient biblical verse about the mass slaughter of an entire city from animals to infants, demanded a million residents of northern Gaza leave their homes or face death, and announced that the aim of the bombing in Gaza was destruction rather than accuracy.
CAIR said a new report by Heritage for Peace detailing Israel’s ongoing destruction of Palestinian cultural sites shows its desire to entirely “eliminate Palestinian existence.”
Washington, D.C., based CAIR also questioned whether Western leaders even regard Palestinians as “human” after more than 700 women, children and men were massacred by Israel within just the last 24 hours.
Previously, CAIR condemned the latest “Israeli war crime of the day” after more than 100 men, women and children were killed in the bombing of residential buildings hosting displaced families in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp.
CAIR also condemned the Biden administration for giving the Israeli government the “green light” to resume bombing Gaza and called on the United States to join other governments in demanding the resumption of the ceasefire and negotiations to secure a just, lasting peace.
[NOTE: More than 100,000 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’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, 202-742-6448, 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