Israel ordered 1.1 million Palestinians to “evacuate” the northern half of the occupied Gaza Strip, prompting UN officials to warn of an impending and unprecedented catastrophe, with the full backing, funding and arming of the U.S. and Europe. Israel's collective punishment of civilians is a war crime.
Addressing the recent crisis, its underlying causes, and the absolute need for the occupying power as well as all resistance groups of the occupied community to respect international law and to respect the prohibition against harming civilians is important. Killing children because children were killed will never prove that killing children is wrong. Israeli state violence needs to be called out, named and sanctioned.
The top priority now for anyone who cares about human rights and upholding international law is to pressure our electeds and the UN to impose a ceasefire, to provide protection for civilians, and to compel Israel, the occupying power, to allow urgent humanitarian aid, including food, water and electricity, in to the 2.3 million Palestinians trapped in the Israeli-occupied and besieged Gaza Strip.
For over 7 days the Palestinians in Gaza have been under the most intense and indiscriminate Israeli bombardment ever, targeting homes, markets, schools and universities, hospitals, healthworkers, journalists, and the entire civilian infrastructure. The Israeli occupation forces are implementing their “Dahiya Doctrine,” which precisely calls for “disproportionate force” to maximize damage to civilians and civilian infrastructure. Israel has bombed Gaza, Syria and Lebanon. We need to stop its raging war machine.
We need to act now, with urgency. Palestinian lives depend on it.
John Francis Mulligan