ACTION ALERT: Call for Immediate Release of U.S. Funding to Gaza and all of Palestine. Stop Spread of COVID-19

In the hope of curbing the spread of the pandemic in Palestine, on March 26 and 27, members of the U.S. Senate and House wrote letters urging the U.S. State Department to release funds Congress had allocated in FY 2020 for humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, but which the Trump administration froze. Our Minnesota senators are not among the signatories of the letter.

Call Senator Amy Klobuchar 612-727-5220

and

Senator Tina Smith 651-221-1016.

The COVID19 virus was transferred to the Palestinians through foreigners. Tell our legislators that, as citizens, we insist the U.S.:

• immediately release the appropriated U.S. funds for humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, as well as provide U.S. contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)
• demand that Israel open Gaza’s borders and end this brutal siege immediately

Background

 “I wouldn’t call it human rights abuse. I’d call it war crimes. The world must listen about this injustice. The borders must be opened. ” – Dr. Mona El-Farra, is a prominent physician living in Gaza City. She is the Director of Gaza Projects at the Middle East Children’s Alliance and a former vice president of the Red Crescent Society for the Gaza Strip.

It is urgent that we, as U.S. citizens, stop U.S. complicity in war crimes which are supporting draconian policies against Palestinians, while at the same time providing funding to Israel with $3.8 billion per year. The Trump administration is preventing humanitarian funds from reaching Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem despite the fact that these funds were appropriated by Congress in the 2020 federal budget. The severely distressed people of the Gaza Strip have been under a brutal 13-year siege, keeping two million people completely sealed off and imprisoned by land, sea, and air. Before COVID-19 was introduced from outside the territory, the people of Gaza had been suffering from food and water insecurity, with a severely stressed medical system unable to obtain supplies to treat injuries and illness; overburdened medical personnel had to work without salaries. Many children were suffering from acute anemia. The United Nations declared Gaza unlivable by this year.

COVID-19 has added to an already unbearable situation. Schools and businesses have closed and people are supposed to shelter in place to prevent the spread of the disease, but homes are unsuited for lockdown as many people live together under one roof; it is impossible to confine the children, and there is nowhere for anyone to go, so everyone is in the street. Your action today can make a difference for life or death in Gaza and all of Palestine.

This call-in is sponsored by the Middle East Committee of WAMM.