(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/3/2023) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned “war crimes” being committed against Palestinian civilians in Jenin refugee camp and called on the United States to take concrete action to stop the Israeli government’s escalating human rights abuses.
Israeli occupation forces carried out drone strikes and troops in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, injuring numerous civilians, killing at least nine Palestinians, including children, cutting off water and electricity across the camp, and reportedly bombing near a mosque.
SEE: Palestinians in occupied West Bank say Israel bombing “innocent people” in raid on Jenin refugee camp (CBS)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-palestinians-occupied-west-bank-jenin-refugee-camp-raid-deaths/
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We strongly condemn the war crimes that Benjamin Netanyahu’s racist government is committing against Palestinian civilians in the Jenin refugee camp using American taxpayer dollars, and we call on the State Department to do the same.
“Between these ongoing attacks on refugees, violent settler rampages, illegal settlement expansion, the murder of dozens of Palestinian children this year alone, and the refusal to hold anyone accountable for the brazen assassination of American citizen and journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the Israeli government is completely out of control because it does not expect to face any consequences from the Biden administration.
“This must change.”
He noted that CAIR recently condemned an Israeli settler’s desecration of a Quran, Islam’s holy text, during attacks on Palestinian civilians.
Last month, CAIR called on the U.S. Department of State to take concrete actions to protect Palestinian-American under attack by Israeli settlers.
Also last month, CAIR called on the Biden administration to take action after the Israeli government approved plans to expedite the construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank.
CAIR has called on the Biden administration to demand “real justice” after an announcement that Israeli soldiers will not face criminal prosecution for the death of an elderly Palestinian-American man who they dragged from a car, bound and left unresponsive on the ground overnight after apparently suffering a heart attack.
Washington, D.C., based CAIR has previously called on the Biden administration to stand up to the new Israeli government composed of openly racist and genocidal far-right politicians.
Last year, CAIR welcomed an investigation by a UN commission of inquiry into the Israeli government’s system of apartheid against Palestinians.
In an open letter, five former European ministers labeled Israel’s policies against Palestinians as “the crime of apartheid.” Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Presbyterian Church USA have labeled Israel an apartheid state. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing also recognized that Israel is committing apartheid against Palestinians.
A group of Israeli law professors says changes introduced by the current far-right Israeli government “validate the claim that Israel practices apartheid.”
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 Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com