The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to enforce the recommendations made by a State Department special panel to suspend U.S. weapons transfers to Israeli military and police units due to its human rights violations.
According to documents from the State Department obtained by ProPublica since 2020, the panel has reviewed reports of multiple cases of rape and extrajudicial killings. Cases included several incidents in which teenagers were reportedly beaten in custody before being released without charges. Among the allegations was the arrest of a 15-year-old boy by Israeli Border Police. The teen was allegedly subjected to both physical and sexual torture, including rape by an object.
Human rights organizations tracking Israel’s war on Gaza have collected eyewitness testimony and videos posted by Israeli soldiers that display the widespread abuses in Gaza and the West Bank. The situation caused Josh Paul, the former director of the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, resigned in response.
In a statement, CAIR Director of Government Affairs Department Robert S. McCaw said:
“Despite these internal report State Department reports detailing egregious human rights abuses by the Israeli government, including allegations of rape and torturing children in the West Bank, Secretary Blinken has ignored his own staff and continued to greenlight weapon shipments to the responsible Israeli military and police units. The glaring disconnect between the gravity of the accusations and his refusal to act on them is deeply disturbing. Secretary Blinken must halt any further weapons transfers that the Israeli government will use to commit more human rights violations.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ 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