Muslim civil rights group also says Biden administration’s silence on Israeli torture of Palestinians permits abuses to continue
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today said President Biden must use American leverage to force far-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the genocide in Gaza by agreeing to a permanent ceasefire.
[NOTE: At least 52 Palestinians were slaughtered just today by Israel today across Gaza. Israel has killed more than 40,000, mostly women and children in Gaza, where it has systematically destroyed most of the civilian infrastructure in a campaign of ethnic cleansing.]
According to Agence France Presse, a US official criticized remarks by Netanyahu that Israel would maintain control of the Gaza-Egypt border. “Maximalist statements like this are not constructive to getting a ceasefire deal across the finish line,” said the senior official. Egypt says that Israel must withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border and from the Rafah border crossing.
In a statement, CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“The Israeli government is very clearly playing games with President Biden. By massacring Palestinians on a daily basis, publicly undermining negotiations and launching regional attacks meant to drag our nation into an all-out war, war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that he wants to continue his campaign of genocide in Gaza and cling to political power. The Biden administration must take concrete action, including an arms embargo, to force a permanent end to Israel’s war crimes and the suffering of the Palestinian people.”
CAIR also said that the Biden administration’s silence on the widely-reported torture of Palestinians civilians by Israeli forces allows the abuses to continue. The civil rights organization’s statement comes after new revelations of Israeli torture.
In an investigative report, Britain’s Channel 4 News said: “Allegations of widespread torture and sexual abuse have been reported by Palestinian detainees – held by Israeli forces. Many have given testimony with allegations of physical, psychological and sexual abuse inflicted by Israeli guards.”
SEE: Palestinian detainees allege torture and sexual abuse by Israeli captors – Channel 4 News
Al Jazeera today reported that Palestinian detainees described abuse at the hands of guards at the Ofner prison. Earlier this month, CAIR called for international action after UN experts warned of “escalating use of torture” by Israel against Palestinian prisoners.
Earlier today, CAIR and its Chicago chapter (CAIR-Chicago) condemned DNC members for assaulting a Muslim woman and other delegates who were silently holding a banner that said “stop arming Israel.”
Video from the Democratic convention last night appears to show a DNC attendee hitting a Muslim woman over the head with a sign for holding up a sign that said “stop arming Israel.” Other individuals attempt to rip the banner out of their hands.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@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