USCPR Action Urges President Biden to End U.S.’s Active Role in Israel’s Genocide

U.S. Must Enforce All Laws and Policies towards Israel, Use Leverage to End Israeli Atrocities Against Palestinians

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, DC, March 8, 2024—Last weekend, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called for a temporary and immediate pause in Gaza ahead of her meeting with Israeli leader Benny Gantz and days after Israeli forces killed and injured Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid, in what has become known as the Flour Massacre. President Biden reaffirmed in his State of the Union address that the U.S. is pushing for a temporary and immediate measure that would last six weeks, and announced the U.S. military will create a temporary port to push humanitarian aid into Gaza, which could take two months to build. The U.S. continues to withhold funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and has failed to hold the Israeli government accountable for blocking humanitarian assistance into Gaza, as recently observed by USAID Administrator Samantha Power. The death toll of Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza has surpassed 30,000 and has reached over 300 in the West Bank, which includes Palestinian U.S. citizens.

In response to recent developments, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action (USCPR Action) Policy Manager Mohammed Khader issued the following statement:

“President Biden, his administration, and Congress must take immediate action to end the active role of the United States of America in Israel’s ongoing atrocities in Gaza. Following the Flour Massacre of Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza City, President Biden must immediately suspend all transfers to Israel as a result of its actions in Gaza. Israel has blocked humanitarian aid; forced catastrophic conditions of life on Palestinians; and used U.S. weapons to kill Palestinian civilians, target Palestinian journalists and Palestinian U.S. citizens, destroy Palestinian civilian infrastructure.

Last month, an Israeli cabinet official blocked a U.S. shipment of flour to UNRWA that would have provided Palestinians with a needed resource as Israel actively imposes a man-made famine to force starvation in Gaza. Weeks after this block, Israeli forces killed Palestinians in Gaza City seeking flour and humanitarian aid from an Israeli convoy. Vice President Kamala Harris and USAID Administrator Samantha Power have acknowledged the forced suffering of Palestinians and dire need for humanitarian aid, but have fallen short on pushing for the enforcement of U.S. law towards Israel for its clear and consistent pattern of gross violations.

President Biden’s announcement of a temporary port built by the U.S. military is a clear admission that Israel is using its total air, land, and sea blockade of Gaza to impede the delivery of humanitarian assistance, likely in violation of section 620i of the Foreign Assistance Act.

President Biden and U.S. officials have continued to put Israel above U.S. law and have emboldened Israeli impunity. The Israeli government and Israeli society has been very clear about its intentions to block humanitarian assistance to Gaza and force Palestinians to suffer from man-made conditions. The recent airdrop of aid into Gaza, which was equal to less than one truckload of aid, was a political stunt that failed to meet the needs of Palestinans. The U.S. government has existing laws and policies it can simply enforce on nations like Israel that block humanitarian aid. President Biden should invoke Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act and demand Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu restore all humanitarian aid access to Gaza or lose U.S. military funding to Israel.

While the building pressure of our activism and advocacy has recently moved Members of Congress to support a ceasefire and Vice President Harris to call for a six-week, temporary pause in bombing during the upcoming month of Ramadan, we continue to urge U.S. officials to change its position to support an unconditional permanent ceasefire and use its leverage over Israel and globally to secure a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The previous pause in November 2023 allowed Israel to intensify its atrocities against Palestinians, which enabled regional conflagrations in response to Israel’s actions. 

The U.S. has exploited its veto power to block and undermine every significant effort within the United Nations aimed at facilitating humanitarian aid for Palestinians and securing a needed ceasefire in Gaza. Months after Israel began its siege on Gaza, U.S. officials have been forced to begin moving toward what Palestinian-led organizations and impacted communities have demanded from the beginning— a permanent ceasefire, an end to Israel’s blockade, and an end to Israel’s occupation.

The root cause of the current cycle of escalations is Israel’s total air, land, and sea blockade of Gaza and Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza have surpassed five months, or over 150 days, which is longer than the Rwandan Genocide. As we remember the failure of the U.S. on Rwanda and other areas where genocide unfolded, we continue to demand that the U.S. government end its active participation in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people once and for all. 

It is long past time for President Biden and the U.S. to end unconditional support for Israel and use its leverage to force an end to Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians. A permanent ceasefire and significant humanitarian assistance is a moral imperative that is urgently needed in Gaza.”

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ABOUT USCPR ACTION

The US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action (USCPR Action) is a diverse movement of Palestinians and their allies who advocate for Palestinian rights and a transformation of U.S. policy on Palestine. That means ending U.S. military funding to apartheid Israel, once and for all, and advocating for justice and freedom for all people. USCPR Action is a project of Tides Advocacy, a 501(c)(4) organization. This partnership allows USCPR Action to expand its advocacy and political work, by advocating for legislation, endorsing political candidates, holding elected officials accountable, and building power across movements. USCPR Action will work to advance Palestinian rights as a non-negotiable part of the progressive agenda in the U.S., and build unprecedented support for Palestinian rights in Congress.