SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
May, 15 2018, 12:00am EDT
Contact:
Jen Nessel, CCR, +1 (212) 614-6449, jnessel@ccrjustice.org Raji Sourani, Palestinian Center for Human Rights, + 0599608811, rajisourani@gmail.com Nuriya Oswald, Al Mezan, (+46) 703842220, Nuriya@mezan.org Raed Jarrar, Amnesty International USA +1 (510) 932-0346 RJarrar@AIUSA.org Nadia Ben-Youssef, Adalah Justice Project, +1 (406) 539 1352, nadia@adalahjusticeproject.org
On Nakba Day, Human Rights Groups Demand U.S. Halt Military Aid to Israeli Military Units That Killed and Injured Gaza Protesters
U.S. weapons used to fire on Palestinian protesters.
Gaza, Washington, D.C. and New York
Today, a coalition of Palestinian and U.S.-based human rights groups submitted a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo demanding that the State Department investigate Israel's use of lethal force against Palestinians in Gaza, and halt any further assistance to Israeli military units involved in the shootings.
The "Great March of Return", which began six weeks ago, has been leading up to today, Nakba Day, which marks 70 years since more than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes. Since protests began, human rights organizations document that the Israeli military has killed 103 people and injured more than 7,000 others, including children, paramedics, journalists, and people with disabilities. Over 3,500 people have reportedly been shot with live fire.
Advocates on the ground in Gaza report that Israel killed 57 protesters and injured over 2,000 more, in one day alone yesterday, while they demonstrated against the Trump administration's decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, continued to stress their internationally recognized right of return to their homes, and demanded an end to the 11-year closure of Gaza.
Highlighting documentation by advocates that Israeli military units are likely using U.S.-made Remington M24 sniper rifles to fire on Palestinian protesters, the coalition of groups reminded Secretary Pompeo that U.S. assistance to foreign military units responsible for gross human rights abuses violates U.S. law.
In the letter to Secretary Pompeo the coalition noted that both the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) and the Arms Export Control Act prohibit the U.S. from providing aid to military units responsible for gross human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings. The FAA further bars security assistance to any government that engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights. In 2017, Israel was the largest recipient of U.S. military aid, receiving more than $3 billion.
Raji Sourani, Director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, said from Gaza, "The Israeli occupation forces' policy and practice of willfully killing Palestinian civilians, who have been peacefully protesting, before the world's eyes, is further proof of Israel's commission of war crimes due to the full immunity granted to it by the U.S. This is also a testament to the Palestinian people's courage in their struggle against the occupation."
Issam Younis, General Director of Al Mezan, said, "Palestinians have raised their voices in peaceful demand of their basic human rights and an end to the closure and blockade of Gaza that maintains their dire living conditions; Israel responded by deploying snipers to fire onto unarmed protesters. The use of lethal and other excessive force is a serious violation of international law, yet our efforts to challenge the policy from within Israel have been met with support for the status quo. The U.S. must therefore implement its own laws and refuse to enable the continuation of the open-fire policy through its military aid."
Nadia Ben-Youssef, Director of Adalah Justice Project, said, "The massacre that Israel committed yesterday in Gaza was inevitable. International condemnation has come from some states, the U.N., the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and human rights advocates everywhere. However, in the absence of accountability and a change in U.S. policy, Israel will continue its unlawful and calculated killings of Palestinians. These horrific events reflect Israel's violent ideology of supremacy and absolute intolerance for Palestinian human rights, and the people's demands for self-determination, historical justice, and equality."
Raed Jarrar, Middle East and North Africa Advocacy Director for Amnesty International USA, said, "Today's reports from Gaza are extremely troubling. As Israel's main supplier of military equipment, the U.S. must realize they are fueling human rights violations. The weapons used against the escalating number of those killed and injured may very likely have been U.S.-made weapons. The amount of force used against individuals not posing any imminent threat should be deeply concerning to both U.S. taxpayers and our elected officials. The U.S. government must take immediate steps to stop the delivery of arms and military equipment to Israel and demand credible investigations that meet international standards. Instead, unfortunately, the U.S. has moved its embassy to Jerusalem, which only rewards Israel's illegal annexation and settlement policy and further inflames the situation."
Diala Shamas, Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, said, "The abhorrent death toll in Gaza, while American and Israeli officials celebrated the U.S. embassy move only a few miles away in disregard of international law, is evidence of Israeli confidence that it will not be held to account for unlawful and excessive use of force by anyone in the Trump administration."
The letter was jointly submitted today by Adalah Justice Project, Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Al-Haq, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights (Gaza), Amnesty International USA, Center for Constitutional Rights, Defense for Children International - Palestine, and Palestinian Center for Human Rights.
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CCR is committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.
(212) 614-6464LATEST NEWS
In 'Unhinged' Rant, Miller Says US Has Right to Take Over Any Country For Its Resources
The White House adviser offered "a very good definition of imperialism," said Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Jan 06, 2026
"Belligerent" was how one Democratic lawmaker described a diatribe given by top White House adviser Stephen Miller on CNN Monday evening regarding the Trump administration's right to take over Venezuela—or any other country—if doing so is in the supposed interest of the US.
To Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), however, Miller was simply providing viewers with "a very good definition of imperialism" as he described the worldview the administration is operating under as it takes control of Venezuela and eyes other countries, including Greenland, that it believes it can and should invade.
"This is what imperialism is all about," Sanders told CNN's Jake Tapper. "And I suspect that people all over the world are saying, ‘Wow, we’re going back to where we were 100 years ago, or 50 years ago, where the big, powerful countries were exploiting poorer countries for their natural resources.'"
The senator spoke to Tapper shortly after Miller's interview, in which the news anchor asked whether President Donald Trump would support holding an election in Venezuela days after the US military bombed the country and abducted President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
Miller refused to directly engage with the question, saying only that it would be "absurd and preposterous" for the US to install Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado as the leader of the country, before asking Tapper to "give [him] the floor" and allow him to explain the White House's view on foreign policy.
"The United States is using its military to secure our interests unapologetically in our hemisphere," said Miller. "We're a superpower and under President Trump we are going to conduct ourselves as a superpower. It is absurd that we would allow a nation in our backyard to become the supplier of resources to our adversaries but not to us."
Instead of "demanding that elections be held" in Venezuela, he added, "the future of the free world depends on America to be able to assert ourselves and our interests without an apology."
MILLER: The US is using its military to secure our interests unapologetically in our hemisphere. We're a superpower and under President Trump we are going to conduct ourselves as a superpower. It's absurd that we would allow a nation in our backyard to become the supplier of… pic.twitter.com/wXK2UxnqUj
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 5, 2026
The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed that Venezuela "stole" oil from the United States. The country is believed to have the largest oil reserves in the world, and the government nationalized its petroleum industry in 1976, including projects that had been run by US-based ExxonMobil. The last privately run oil operations were nationalized in 2007 by then-President Hugo Chavez.
Miller offered one of the most explicit explanations of the White House's view yet: that "sovereign countries don’t get sovereignty if the US wants their resources," as Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) translated in a social media post.
Moulton called Miller's tirade "genuinely unhinged" and "a disturbing window into how this administration thinks about the world."
Miller's remarks followed a similarly blunt statement at a UN Security Council emergency meeting by US Ambassador Michael Waltz.
"You cannot continue to have the largest energy reserves in the world under the control of adversaries of the United States," said Waltz.
Miller's description of the White House's current view on foreign policy followed threats from Trump against countries including Colombia, Mexico, and Greenland, and further comments suggested that the administration could soon move to take control of the latter country—even though it is part of the kingdom of Denmark, which along with the US is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
"Greenland should be part of the United States," said Miller. "The president has been very clear about that, that is the formal position of the US government."
Miller: “Greenland has a population of 30,000 people. By what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? The United States is the power of NATO. Greenland should be part of the United States.”
“Nobody is going to fight the US militarily over the future of Greenland.” pic.twitter.com/d7i2kMXFMD
— Dori Toribio (@DoriToribio) January 5, 2026
He dismissed the idea that the takeover of Greenland, home to about 56,000 people, would involve a military operation—though Trump has said he would not rule out using force—and said that "nobody's going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland."
The vast island is strategically located in the Arctic Circle and has largely untapped reserves of rare-earth minerals.
Danish and Greenlandic officials have condemned Trump's latest threats this week, with Denmark's prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, warning that, in accordance with the NATO treaty, "everything would come to an end" if the US attacks another NATO country.
“The international community as we know it, democratic rules of the game, NATO, the world’s strongest defensive alliance—all of that would collapse if one NATO country chose to attack another," she told Danish news channel Live News on Monday.
The Danish government called an emergency meeting of its Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday to discuss "the kingdom's relationship with the United States."
On CNN, Sanders noted that as Trump sets his sights on controlling oil reserves in Venezuela and resources in Greenland, people across the president's own country are struggling under rising costs and financial insecurity.
"Maybe instead of trying to run Venezuela," said Sanders, "the president might try to do a better job running the United States of America."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Corbyn Rips Starmer 'Cowardice' in Face of Illegal US Assault on Venezuela
"He is choosing to desecrate the meaning of international law to avoid upsetting Donald Trump."
Jan 06, 2026
Independent British Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn on Tuesday accused United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer of "cowardice" for refusing to condemn the US bombing of Venezuela and abduction of its president, acts that experts agree were flagrant violations of international law.
Hours after the US attack—as leaders in the region and worldwide voiced horror and outrage—Starmer issued a statement welcoming Nicolás Maduro's ouster, declaring that "we regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime."
Starmer later insisted, as the Trump administration laid out plans to control the Venezuelan government indefinitely, that the situation was "complicated," adding that it was "for the U.S. to justify the action that it has taken."
Corbyn, the former leader of the Labour Party now helmed by Starmer, countered in Tribune magazine that "it’s really not that complicated: Bombing a sovereign nation and abducting its head of state is illegal."
"It is absolutely staggering that a prime minister with a background in law cannot bring himself to say something so obvious," Corbyn wrote. "It’s not that he doesn’t understand. He understands full well. That is the true abomination: He is choosing to desecrate the meaning of international law to avoid upsetting Donald Trump. This is the true meaning of the so-called ‘special relationship’ that government ministers are so desperate to protect: one where the United States tells us to jump, and we ask how high."
"Twenty-three years later, another Labour prime minister is doing his best to cement the UK’s status as a vassal of the United States."
The UK, according to the government's foreign secretary, has been in close contact with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the role it can play in Venezuela, citing the "work we have done over many years to build up relationships and dialogue with Venezuelan opposition parties and with the current authorities in the regime and of course our relationship with the US."
Corbyn argued that the government's approach is in some ways reminiscent of its conduct in the lead-up to the disastrous and illegal US invasion of Iraq more than two decades ago.
"Twenty-three years later, another Labour prime minister is doing his best to cement the UK’s status as a vassal of the United States," Corbyn wrote. "Unlike Iraq, the UK says it is not involved in the bombing of Venezuela. Like Iraq, however, the UK is proving once again that it has no interest in standing up for international law."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Defunded and Vulnerable' Corporation for Public Broadcasting Dissolves Amid GOP Attacks
"The dissolution of CPB is a direct result of Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican allies' reckless crusade to destroy public broadcasting and control what Americans read, hear, and see," said Sen. Ed Markey.
Jan 05, 2026
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting—which helped fund NPR, PBS, and many local public television and radio outlets—announced Monday that its board of directors has voted to dissolve the 58-year-old private nonprofit, a move one Democratic US senator blamed on Republican efforts to destroy the venerable American institution.
CPB said in a statement that Sunday's board of directors vote "follows Congress’ rescission of all of CPB’s federal funding and comes after sustained political attacks that made it impossible for CPB to continue operating as the Public Broadcasting Act intended."
Patricia Harrison, CPB's president and CEO, said Monday that "for more than half a century, CPB existed to ensure that all Americans—regardless of geography, income, or background—had access to trusted news, educational programming, and local storytelling."
"When the [Trump] administration and Congress rescinded federal funding, our board faced a profound responsibility: CPB’s final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks," Harrison added.
CPB board chair Ruby Calvert said: “What has happened to public media is devastating. After nearly six decades of innovative, educational public television and radio service, Congress eliminated all funding for CPB, leaving the board with no way to continue the organization or support the public media system that depends on it."
"Yet, even in this moment, I am convinced that public media will survive, and that a new Congress will address public media’s role in our country because it is critical to our children's education, our history, culture, and democracy to do so," Calvert added.
The dissolution of CPB won't end NPR, PBS, or other public media outlets—which are overwhelmingly funded via contributions by private donors and by viewers and listeners.
President Donald Trump, congressional Republicans, and conservative advocacy groups—including the Heritage Foundation, which led work on Project 2025, the right-wing roadmap for remaking the federal government whose agenda includes stripping CPB funding—argue that NPR, PBS and other public outlets have become too "woke" and liberally "biased." In May, Trump signed an executive order calling for an end to taxpayer support for CPB-funded media.
Critics counter that Republican attacks on CPB have little to do with ensuring balanced coverage and fiscal responsibility and more to do with punishing media outlets that are critical of Trump and his policies.
"The dissolution of CPB is a direct result of Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican allies' reckless crusade to destroy public broadcasting and control what Americans read, hear, and see," US Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said in a statement Monday.
“Today’s decision to dissolve the Corporation for Public Broadcasting marks a grave loss for the American public," Markey continued. "For generations, CPB helped ensure access to trusted news, quality children’s programming, local storytelling, and vital emergency information for millions of people in Massachusetts and across the country."
"CPB nurtured and developed our public broadcasting system, which is truly the crown jewel of America’s media mix," he added. “This fight is not over. I will continue to fight for public media and oppose authoritarian efforts to shut down dissent, threaten journalists, and undermine free speech in the United States of America.”
Free press defenders also lamented CPB's imminent dissolution, as well as consolidation in the corporate mainstream media.
"Meanwhile," said human rights attorney Qasim Rashid on Bluesky, "billionaires continue to buy up major legacy media to prevent criticism of Trump."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular