(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/1/2023) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned a repeat Israeli attack on the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, which left an unknown number of people killed and injured, and said it is “running out of words” to describe the American Muslim community’s disappoint with the Biden administration’s refusal to demand a ceasefire.
In a statement, CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“We are running out of words to describe the American Muslim community’s disappointment with the Biden administration’s refusal to demand a ceasefire. Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t accidentally killing civilians in the Jabalia refugee camp day after day; he is obviously doing so deliberately. At this point, President Biden’s refusal to demand a ceasefire is bordering on the absurd. For the sake of God, President Biden, stop this madness and demand a ceasefire.”
He noted that CAIR has previously called on the Biden administration to condemn Israeli attacks on other refugee camps earlier this year, before the latest outbreak of violence.
SEE: CAIR Calls on Biden Administration to Condemn Deadly Israeli Attack on Palestinian Refugee Camp (1/26)
ALSO: CAIR Calls on White House to Condemn, Intervene to Stop Israeli Government’s ‘War Crimes’ in Palestinian Refugee Camp (7/23)
Washington, D.C., based CAIR said the repeated attacks on refugee camps, other residential areas, medical facilities, mosques, churches, schools, journalists, and U.N. facilities is further proof of Israeli war crimes, collective punishment, and ethnic cleansing.
SEE: Another Wave of Israeli Strikes Hit Gaza Refugee Camp
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/01/gaza-refugee-camp-israeli-strikes-00124706
Yesterday, CAIR called on President Biden to “stop the madness” after Israeli forces massacred more than 100 Palestinians in bombings of the same camp, tortured naked Palestinian prisoners on camera in the West Bank, forced a blindfolded captive to shout “long live Israel,” and used a tank to blow up a fleeing civilian vehicle in northern Gaza.
CAIR recently said it is “unacceptable” for the Biden administration to continue refusing to seek a ceasefire in Gaza despite the fact that many American travelers and hostages are under Israeli bombardment that has already killed more than 8,000, including thousands of children.
He noted that CAIR previously called Israeli government’s indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza “genocide” after the death toll of Palestinians topped 5,000.
CAIR also said U.S. officials will be complicit in the ethnic cleansing of Gaza unless they intervene after the Israeli government announced that any Palestinian civilians who refuse to leave their homes in north Gaza could be identified as accomplices with a terrorist organization, and presumably targeted for killing by Israeli forces.
[NOTE: More than 85,000 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.com) ]
BACKGROUNDER:
CAIR condemned a deadly Israeli airstrike targeting the Greek Orthodox Church campus in Gaza that killed 17 people.
Israel’s far-right defense minister has said that Israel is fighting “human animals” and that the entire Gaza population would be treated accordingly through a “complete siege” on the Gaza Strip that block all supplies of electricity, food and fuel. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres he is “deeply distressed” by that blockade.
According to the Geneva Convention, states must allow the free passage of medical supplies, food, and other relief supplies for the benefit of a civilian population.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court states that it a war crime to: “Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, includin[sic] impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions.”
Collective punishment is also prohibited by Article 33 of the Geneva Conventions, which states: “No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.”
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, 202-999-8292, 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