(WASHINGTON, DC – 12/6/2023) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the invocation of a rare clause ordering the UN Security Council to meet to discuss an urgent ceasefire in Israel’s ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on the Security Council to “press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza and unite in a call for a full ceasefire. Invocation of Article 99 allows the UN secretary-general to bring the attention of the security council to “any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.”
“We hope the invocation of Article 99 will lead to concrete international action to stop the far-right Israeli government’s campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “People worldwide are losing trust in governments and international institutions as they witness the daily destruction, slaughter and displacement of Palestinian civilians.”
Yesterday, CAIR condemned the shooting of an unarmed Palestinian man in the West Bank and an Israeli attack on another hospital in Gaza and said the Biden administration is actively participating in Israel’s “ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinian people.”
The Washington Post confirms that premature babies were left to die in a Gaza hospital after Israeli forces ordered the building evacuated. CAIR previously called for UN and U.S. probes of Israel’s actions after horrifying video showed the babies’ decaying corpses, partially eaten by stray dogs.]
Earlier this week, CAIR condemned another “war crime of the day” – the slaughter of at least 50 civilians in airstrikes on two UN-run schools sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel has killed more than 16,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children in Gaza in recent weeks. Many more have been killed by Israeli occupation forces and illegal settlers in the West Bank.
CAIR noted that the Israeli government’s extremist leaders have declared that there are no innocent civilians in Gaza, justified cutting off water, electricity and other basic necessities because Palestinians are ‘human animals,’ embraced an ancient biblical verse about the mass slaughter of an entire city from animals to infants, demanded a million residents of northern Gaza leave their homes or face death, and announced that the aim of the bombing in Gaza was destruction rather than accuracy.
CAIR said a new report by Heritage for Peace detailing Israel’s ongoing destruction of Palestinian cultural sites shows its desire to entirely “eliminate Palestinian existence.”
Washington, D.C., based CAIR also questioned whether Western leaders even regard Palestinians as “human” after more than 700 women, children and men were massacred by Israel within just the last 24 hours.
Previously, CAIR condemned the latest “Israeli war crime of the day” after more than 100 men, women and children were killed in the bombing of residential buildings hosting displaced families in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp.
CAIR also condemned the Biden administration for giving the Israeli government the “green light” to resume bombing Gaza and called on the United States to join other governments in demanding the resumption of the ceasefire and negotiations to secure a just, lasting peace.
[NOTE: More than 100,000 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’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.
Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational
Subscribe to CAIR’s Email List
https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters
Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed
http://twitter.com/cairnational
Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel
Follow CAIR on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/cair_national/
Donate to CAIR
https://action.cair.com/a/donate
Do you like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.
You are receiving this email due to your interest selection from commercial media databases. If you would like to join CAIR’s media list, please sign up here: https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters — For more information, email: info@cair.com, CC ihooper@cair.com
END
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