Muslim civil rights and advocacy group welcomes Trump’s call for end to ‘brutal conflict,’ calls for action to permanently and immediately stop the genocide
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the Trump administration to drop U.S.-Israeli efforts to force starving Palestinians in Gaza into de facto concentration camps surrounded by the Israeli military in order to receive food and other humanitarian aid after the release of a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IFSPC) stating that Gaza’s entire population is at imminent risk of famine.
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Palestinians who enter the camps would be banned returning from their homes and Palestinians could be barred from receiving aid if Israeli claims they have a connection to militant groups.
CAIR also welcomed President Trump’s call for an end to the “brutal conflict” in response to the release of an Israeli-American soldier held captive since Oct. 7th. CAIR calls on the Trump administration to demand an immediate end to the genocide, the release of all captives and political prisoners, and the restoration of unfettered humanitarian aid to the entire Gaza Strip.
In a statement, CAIR said:
“The worsening food insecurity and potential future famine in Gaza is the direct result of the Israeli government’s medieval siege. The blockade must end immediately, and humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach Gaza’s people unfettered. Israeli troops, who have been slaughtering the people of Gaza for the past two years, should not be in charge of deciding who receives food and aid. We urge the Trump administration to force the Israeli government to allow aid into Gaza and stop its genocidal campaign of slaughter, starvation, torture, ethnic cleansing, and mass destruction.”
CAIR also condemned the “systematic abuse and torture” that Gaza detainees face in Israeli prisons as outlined in a report released today. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) report says that abuse is “an integral component of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.”
BACKGROUNDER:
The IFSPC report found that about 93 percent of Gaza’s population are living with acute food shortages. Among them are 244,000 people, or 12 percent of the population, who are experiencing the most severe, or “catastrophic”, food shortages. About 470,000 people, or 22 percent of the population, are projected to fall into the catastrophic category by the end of September with more than a million more at “emergency” levels, the fourth level on the IPC’s five-level scale.
Entire Gaza population at critical risk of famine, UN-backed assessment says
The Israeli government has proposed a plan to control aid deliveries into Gaza and supervise them with armed troops. International aid agencies warned Friday that Israeli plans to control aid distribution in Gaza, including a US-backed proposal, will increase suffering and death in the strip.
SEE: UN agencies warn that Israel’s plans for aid distribution will endanger lives in Gaza
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) published a report that found that Israeli forces engage in mass arbitrary detentions of Palestinians in Gaza. In Israeli prisoners, these detainees were found to be subjected to brutal physical and psychological torture, including beatings, electrocution, suspension, sexual violence, extremely tight handcuffing and forced stress positions.
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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