{"id":89303,"date":"2024-04-05T14:18:55","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T19:18:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/?p=89303"},"modified":"2024-04-05T14:18:55","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T19:18:55","slug":"a-statement-on-the-role-of-the-us-in-israels-war-crimes-in-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/?p=89303","title":{"rendered":"A Statement on the Role of the US in Israel\u2019s War Crimes in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Statement on the Role of the US in Israel\u2019s War Crimes in Gaza<\/strong>[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

With Israeli war crimes in Gaza mounting into what the International Court of Justice has declared a \u201cplausible genocide,\u201d the Board of Directors of the Minaret of Freedom Institute (MFI) finds it necessary to supplement its previous October 2023 statement[2]<\/a> on the war with a statement regarding the role of the US government. MFI is committed to following Islamic principles, which include the Quranic injunction of seeking justice, even against our own selves (in this case, our own government)[3]<\/a>. We are also committed to following libertarian principles, which include opposition to imperialism and to foreign intervention.<\/p>\n

Our earlier statement condemned Hamas\u2019s inclusion of noncombatants in its October 7 attack on Israel, the Israeli occupation policies that provoked it, and Israel\u2019s disproportionate retaliation. Since then, US support has enabled Israel to aggravate the situation. More than 32,000 residents of Gaza \u2013 mainly noncombatants \u2013 have been killed by Israel\u2019s aggression. Israel has killed more children since October 7 than died in the last four years in all other conflicts around the world.[4]<\/a> \u00a0The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have employed collective punishment against the two million citizens of Gaza, indiscriminately bombed cities throughout the Gaza Strip, committed multiple massacres of civilians, destroyed hospitals, schools, universities, mosques and a historic church, and targeted journalists. In addition, Israel has not only blocked aid from reaching Gaza, but has bombed a food distribution center and killed several high-level aid workers[5]<\/a>, intentionally provoking a famine.[6]<\/a> Israeli officials, military and religious leaders, and media have all articulated policies and intentions of enforcing collective punishment and committing ethnic cleansing[7]<\/a>. These articulated intentions, coupled with countless criminal actions, are tantamount to war crimes insofar as they contravene the principles guiding armed conflict stipulated in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the laws set forth during the Military Tribunal at Nuremberg at the end of World War II spearheaded by US prosecutors.<\/p>\n

The US multi-dimensional support of Israel\u2019s war crimes makes the US an indictable co-conspirator to them. US support includes<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. billions of dollars of weapons transfers during a time of plausible genocide[8]<\/a> (The US has made over one hundred weapon transfers to Israel since Oct \u201823[9]<\/a>, with the Biden administration intentionally bypassing congressional review for most of said weapons transfers.);[10]<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. billions of dollars in economic and military financial aid. (The US provides over $3 billion every year to Israel, and the US Senate recently approved another $14 billion to Israel in response to a request by Biden.);[11]<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. sharing training and intelligence (The US military provides warfare strategies to Israel,[12]<\/a> and the CIA provides intelligence on Hamas and missing hostages.[13]<\/a>);<\/li>\n
  4. terminating funding to UNRWA and pressuring other countries to follow suit, thus directly contributing to the man-made famine.[14]<\/a> (This is despite reports of UNRWA staff being tortured and coerced into false confessions.);[15]<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. permitting US citizens to travel back-and-forth to Israel as members of the IDF;[16]<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. providing political support and protection (The US has vetoed 3 UN ceasefire resolutions and dismissed the ICJ ruling of \u201cplausible genocide\u201d);<\/li>\n
  7. providing support for Israeli lies about its conduct (Congress has gone so far as to redefine \u201chuman shields\u201d so as to defend Israel\u2019s so-called \u201ccollateral damage,\u201d[17]<\/a> and US officials allow themselves to be turned into Israeli propaganda tools by repeating discredited accusations of baby beheadings[18]<\/a> and rapes by Hamas[19]<\/a> while covering up IDF responsibility for the deaths of Israeli civilians on October 7th[20]<\/a> and Israel\u2019s ongoing sexual humiliation of Palestinians both in Gaza and in Israeli prisons.[21]<\/a>,[22]<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    A remedy is readily available, without which Israel has no incentive to obey international law or negotiate in good faith and, therefore, renders the delivery of humanitarian assistance impossible. This remedy will also facilitate the return of hostages held by Hamas and of prisoners held by Israel. It consists of the following actions by the US:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Stop blocking UN ceasefire resolutions and support a genuine, durable ceasefire that will allow sufficient aid to reach Gazans now suffering a man-made famine. The US\u2019s own proposal was submitted in the full knowledge that it was in fact not a call for a ceasefire and that it contained terms that would spark vetoes from China and Russia.[23]<\/a><\/li>\n
    2. Cease all transfers of weapons and financial aid to Israel.<\/li>\n
    3. Punish US citizens who travel to Israel and commit war crimes as Canada and South Africa[24]<\/a> have done and France intends to do[25]<\/a>(and as the US would certainly punish US citizens who go abroad and commit terrorists acts for any other group).<\/li>\n
    4. Support all legal actions, domestic and international, against politicians and countries participating in these war crimes. This is following over one dozen lawsuits and court rulings \u2013 in the ICJ, ICC, and various national courts \u2013 which are against supporters of Israels war crimes.[26]<\/a><\/li>\n
    5. Issue a public condemnation of Israeli war crimes.<\/li>\n
    6. Seek an immediate end to Israel\u2019s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, which includes accepting the right of Palestinians to return and to self-determination.<\/li>\n
    7. Make financial restitution to the victims of these acts of retaliation by rebuilding what has been so gratuitously destroyed by Israel\u2019s wanton aggression funded and encouraged by the US government.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      (signed)<\/p>\n

      Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad
      \nOmar Hisham Altalib
      \nCharles E. Butterworth
      \nRamy Osman
      \nMaliha Sheikh
      \nAntony Sullivan
      \n——-<\/p>\n

      [1]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “[T]he expression ‘Israel-Hamas war’ … not only misdescribes what is happening in Gaza, it also helps to motivate Israel\u2019s ruthless onslaught on civilians since the October 7th Hamas attack.\u201d Talal Asad, \u201cReflections on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,\u201d Humanity Journal<\/em> (3\/21\/2024). https:\/\/humanityjournal.org\/blog\/reflections-on-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict\/<\/a><\/p>\n

      [2]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, Omar Hisham Altalib, Charles E. Butterworth, Ramy Osman, Maliha Sheikh, and Antony Sullivan, \u201cStatement on the Gaza-Israeli War, Minaret of Freedom Institute. (10\/30\/2023)\u00a0 https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/?p=88161<\/a><\/p>\n

      [3]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Qur\u2019an 4:135<\/p>\n

      [4]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 United Nations, \u201cGaza: Number of children killed higher than from four years of world conflict,\u201d UN News<\/em> (3\/24\/2024) https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2024\/03\/1147512<\/a><\/p>\n

      [5]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John Davison, Michelle Nichols, Emma Farge, Emily Rose and Farah Saafan, \u201cDestruction, Lawlessness and Red Tape Hobble aid as Gazans Go Hungry,\u201d Reuters (3\/26\/2024) https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/destruction-lawlessness-red-tape-hobble-aid-gazans-go-hungry-2024-03-25\/<\/a><\/p>\n

      [6]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 United Nations, \u201cImminent famine in northern Gaza is \u2018entirely man-made disaster\u2019: Guterres,\u201d UN News (3\/18\/2024) https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2024\/03\/1147656<\/a><\/p>\n

      [7]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Khalid Elassaad, Matthew Gill, Nadir Tareen, and Sharon Fawcett, \u201cIsrael Quotes\u201d https:\/\/www.israelquotes.com<\/a>;<\/p>\n

      [8]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 United Nations, \u201cArms Exports to Israel Must Stop Immediately: UN Experts,\u201d Office of the \/high Commissioner on \/human Rights (2\/23\/2024). https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/press-releases\/2024\/02\/arms-exports-israel-must-stop-immediately-un-experts<\/a><\/p>\n

      [9]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John Hudson, \u201cU.S. Floods Arms into Israel Despite Mounting Alarm over War\u2019s Conduct,\u201d Washington Post (3\/6\/2024). https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2024\/03\/06\/us-weapons-israel-gaza<\/a><\/p>\n

      [10]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Stephen Semler, \u201cJoe Biden Is Shipping Weapons to Israel Every 36 Hours,\u201d Jacobin<\/em> (3\/13\/2024). https:\/\/jacobin.com\/2024\/03\/biden-weapons-israel-gaza-palestine<\/a><\/p>\n

      [11]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jon Hoffman, \u201cIsrael Is a Strategic Liability for the United States,\u201d Cato Institute (3\/22\/2024). https:\/\/www.cato.org\/commentary\/israel-strategic-liability-united-states<\/a><\/p>\n

      [12]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0David H. Petreus, Anthony C. Zinni, and Karen J. DeYoung, \u201cAmerican Military Leadership in the Middle East,\u201d Council on Foreign Relations (2\/28\/2024). https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/event\/american-military-leadership-middle-east<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n

      [13]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Gada Zeig, \u201cCIA Providing Intel to Israel on Hamas Leaders, Gaza Hostages,\u201d Jerusalem Post (1\/13\/2024). https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/israel-hamas-war\/article-781995<\/a> \u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n

      [14]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 European Union, \u201cEuropean Humanitarian Forum: Speech by High Representative\/Vice-President Josep Borrell at the Opening Ceremony,\u201d The Diplomatic Service of the European Union (3\/18\/2024).\u00a0 \u00a0https:\/\/www.eeas.europa.eu\/eeas\/european-humanitarian-forum-speech-high-representativevice-president-josep-borrell-opening-ceremony_en<\/a><\/p>\n

      [15]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Reuters, \u201cUNRWA Report Says Israel Coerced Some Agency Employees to Falsely Admit Hamas Links\u201d Reuters (3\/8\/2024). https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/unrwa-report-says-israel-coerced-some-agency-employees-falsely-admit-hamas-links-2024-03-08<\/a><\/p>\n

      [16]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Steve Hendrix and Shira Rubins \u201cThe American Citizens Fighting and Dying for Israel in the Gaza War,\u201d Washington Post (2\/22\/2024). https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2024\/02\/22\/israel-gaza-war-americans-killed<\/a><\/p>\n

      [17]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Stephen Zunes, \u201cUS Has Redefined \u2018Human Shields\u2019 to Enable Israel\u2019s Slaughter of Gaza Civilians,\u201d Truthout (3\/22\/2024). https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/us-has-redefined-human-shields-to-enable-israels-slaughter-of-gaza-civilians<\/a><\/p>\n

      [18]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jeremy Scahill, \u201cJoe Biden Keeps Repeating His False Claim That He Saw Pictures of Beheaded Babies,\u201d The Intercept <\/em>(12\/14\/2023). https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2023\/12\/14\/israel-biden-beheaded-babies-false\/<\/a><\/p>\n

      [19]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Arun Gupta, \u201cClaims of Mass Rape by Hamas Unravel Upon Investigation,\u201d Yes Magazine (3\/5\/2024). https:\/\/www.yesmagazine.org\/social-justice\/2024\/03\/05\/israel-hamas-oct7-report-gaza<\/a><\/p>\n

      [20]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Julia Frankel and Alon Bernstein, \u201cFriendly Fire May Have Killed Their Relatives on Oct. 7. These Israeli Families Want Answers Now,\u201d Associated Press (1\/11\/2024). https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/israel-hamas-hostages-investigation-friendly-fire-3b6fdd4592957340b32a8ee71505b8e9<\/a><\/p>\n

      [21]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Richard Roth, Kareem El Damanhoury and Richard Allen Greene, \u201cUN Experts Demand Investigation into Claims Israeli Forces Killed, Raped and Sexually Assaulted Palestinian Women and Girls,\u201d CNN (2\/20\/2024).\u00a0 https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/02\/20\/middleeast\/israel-hamas-un-investigation-sexual-abuse-intl\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n

      [22]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Middle Easy Eye Staff, \u201cIsraeli General Says US Official Accused Army of Sexually Abusing Palestinian Women,\u201d Middle East Eye (3\/25\/2024). https:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/news\/israeli-general-says-us-official-accused-army-sexually-abusing-palestinian-women<\/a><\/p>\n

      [23]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Patrick Wintour, \u201cWhat did US Gaza Ceasefire Resolution Say and Why Did Russia and China Veto It?\u201d The Guardian (3\/22\/2024). https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2024\/mar\/22\/us-gaza-ceasefire-resolution-explainer?trk=public_post_comment-text<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n

      [24]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gerald Imray, \u201cSouth Africa\u2019s Foreign Minister Says Citizens Fighting with Israeli Forces in Gaza Will Be Arrested,\u201d Associated Press (3\/13\/2024). https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/south-africa-israel-military-gaza-war-genocide-0f17e9cbda2a3e2d90829b65606a2f14<\/a><\/p>\n

      [25]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Palestine Chronicle Staff, \u201cFrance \u2018Intends Legal Action\u2019 Against French-Israeli Soldiers Complicit in Gaza War Crimes \u2013 Report,\u201d Palestine Chronicle (4\/2\/2024). https:\/\/www.palestinechronicle.com\/france-intends-legal-action-against-french-israeli-soldiers-complicit-in-gaza-war-crimes-report\/<\/a><\/p>\n

      [26]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWar Crimes in the Israel\u2013Hamas War,\u201d Wikipedia (accessed 4\/3\/2024).\u00a0 https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/War_crimes_in_the_Israel%E2%80%93Hamas_war#Lawsuits<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      A Statement on the Role of the US in Israel\u2019s War Crimes in Gaza[1] With Israeli war crimes in Gaza mounting into what the International Court of Justice has declared a \u201cplausible genocide,\u201d the Board of Directors of the Minaret of Freedom Institute (MFI) finds it necessary to supplement its previous October 2023 statement[2] on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-ahmads-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=89303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89304,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89303\/revisions\/89304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=89303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=89303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=89303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}