American Support for Israeli Aggression Must End

By Sarwat Husain

ccun.org, January 11, 2009

 
Under international law, Israel is an occupying power that is required to protect those under its occupation. The claim that Israel no longer occupies the Gaza Strip is disingenuous and deceitful. Israel controls all land, sea and air access to that impoverished area, turning the area into the world’s largest open-air prison camp.
 
For many months, Israel has denied humanitarian aid to Gaza’s civilian population, a blockade that by itself can be regarded as an act of war under international law. Israel’s blockade of 1.5 million people is a violation of the Geneva Convention. By purposefully harming Palestinian civilians, the Israel military is committing the serious war crime of collective punishment. Israel has kept Innocent Palestinians under a perpetual state of war for the last more than six decades.
 
This is state sponsored terrorism at its best.
No other country in the world have terrorized as many people for so long as Israel has for more than half a century.
 
The claim that the Palestinian side broke the cease-fire is also false. As reported by CNN’s Rick Sanchez, Israel broke the truce in early November. Sanchez stated: “I've checked with some of the folks here at our international desk, and I went to them and asked, what was he talking about, and do we have any information on that? Which they confirmed, two months ago -- this is back in November -- there was an attack. It was an Israeli raid that took out six people.”
 
SEE: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0812/31/cnr.07.html

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the cease-fire was "unilaterally violated when [Israel] blew up a tunnel."
 
SEE: Delusions of Victory in Gaza (Haaretz, 12/28/08)
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050460.html
 
The timing of Israeli strikes calls into question Israels political motivation, coming as they do in the final days of Bush administration and one month before the hotly-contested Israeli election in which the challenger is attacking the incumbent for being soft on security.
 
The European Union (UN), the Arab League, the Organizations of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and many other international bodies are all urging Israel to end its brutal attacks. Middle East envoy Tony Blair deplored the tragic loss of lives while the French President Nicholas Sarkozy condemned Israel’s disproportionate use of force.
 
Our government’s blind support for Israel attacks on Palestinians is harms prospects for peace with justice in the region and damages America’s image and interests throughout the Muslim world.
 
Israel, one of the world’s strongest military powers, has subjected essentially defenseless Palestinians to a brutal assault in which more than 400 people lost their lives and thousands were wounded, even after the world and the UN pressure to stop the slaughter Israel continues to carry on with its murders.
 
Richard Falk, the UN special reporter for human rights in the Palestinian territories, told the BBC: "Israel is committing a shocking series of atrocities by using modern weaponry against a defenseless population -- attacking a population that has been enduring a severe blockade for many months."
 
SEE: Gaza Air Campaign 'a First Stage' (BBC)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7804218.stm
 
From 1967 to 1989, the UN General Assembly passed 429 resolutions against Israel. Israel was condemned 321 times. The United States has used its veto power to prevent resolutions concerning Israel from passing through the Security Council on 42 occasions since 1970. UN Resolution 242 calls for Israel to withdraw from land forcibly and preemptively occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem.
 
The only just course of action is for the United States to adopt a balanced approach to the Middle East conflict and to end decades of support for the most extreme wing of the Israeli political spectrum. Our foreign policy must be based on what is best for America, not on the demands of extremists in Israel.
 
As journalist Charley Reese wrote: "Palestinian independence will only be realized when America gets its independence from Israel." Only then will Israel’s immoral and illegal collective punishment on the Palestinian people come to an end.
 
Sarwat Husain

President
Council on American Islamic Relations-San Antonio, TX
She can be reached at shusain@cair.com