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
friends committee on national legislation
100+ Groups 'Decry and Oppose' Trump Push to Ethnically Cleanse Gaza
"Palestine is not just an idea—it is a place. It is a homeland to the Palestinian people," the coalition wrote.
Feb 10, 2025
A coalition of over 100 organizations on Monday forcefully denounced U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip of Palestinians and take over the coastal enclave recently decimated by an Israeli military campaign conducted with American weapons.
Led by A New Policy—a group founded by Biden administration officials who resigned in protest—and the Quaker organization Friends Committee on National Legislation, the coalition said that "we are deeply alarmed by President Trump's recent statements, tracing them back to January 25, just days after the Republican returned to power.
"We, the undersigned organizations, decry and oppose any effort or initiative, and any calls for, the forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, and support the joint statement of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority, and the Arab League that similarly rejected any such steps," the coalition wrote, citing the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The letter highlights the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in the 1940s during the formation of the modern state of Israel, which Palestinians call the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe; that since 2006, Gaza "has been in a state of siege," with residents enduring repeated bombardment and restrictions on necessities; and that since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, they have faced what various experts have found to be a plausible case of genocide, with over 48,000 people killed.
"Through this all, the Palestinians in Gaza have stood with remarkable dignity and perseverance, insisting throughout the immense suffering and loss that they will never abandon their homeland," the letter continues, echoing recent remarks from residents. "We are deeply concerned by clear statements of intent from Israeli government officials over the past year concerning the creation of new Israeli settlements within the Gaza Strip, which further reinforce the intent of ethnic cleansing."
"The United States has no right to dictate to the Palestinian people in Gaza to leave, and direct other countries to participate in their displacement. We are also aware that even a temporary external displacement could be used by Israel to enact permanent exile," the letter says. "While we agree that the short and medium-term humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza may be difficult to meet given the nearly complete destruction that Israel has wrought, if the necessary services cannot be provided in Gaza, the people of Gaza must be able to access them elsewhere within the historic borders of Palestine and must be able to return."
The coalition also expressed alarm over "an uptick in settler violence" and deadly Israel Defense Forces operations in the illegally occupied West Bank, writing that "these actions are part and parcel of a strategy that seeks to make not just Gaza, but all Palestinian areas across historic Palestine, unlivable for the Palestinian people, and are thus contributory to a process of ethnic cleansing."
"Palestine is not just an idea—it is a place. It is a homeland to the Palestinian people," the groups stressed. "To participate in, facilitate, or endorse their removal from it would violate every precept of international law, devastate the rules-based international order that protects us all, do irreversible harm to America's global influence, and be an act of unconscionable immorality."
The letter concludes with a poem from Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish, who wrote:
My country is not a suitcase
I am not a traveler
I am the lover and the land is the beloved.
The archaeologist is busy analyzing stones.
In the rubble of legends he searches for his own eyes
to show
that I am a sightless vagrant on the road
with not one letter in civilization's alphabet.
Meanwhile in my own time I plant my trees.
I sing of my love.
In addition to the coalition leaders, signatories to the letter include ActionAid USA, CodePink, Democracy for the Arab World Now, Demand Progress Education Fund, Democratic Socialists of America, IfNotNow Movement, Just Foreign Policy, Madre, National Iranian American Council, Oil Change International, Peace Action, Progressive Democrats of America, and September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, and U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights.
The letter came amid a fresh wave of alarm over Trump's latest comments about Gaza and Palestinians, which aired Monday morning on "Fox & Friends." He said: "We'll build safe communities a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is. In the meantime, I would own this—think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land."
Asked by Fox News' Bret Baier whether Palestinians would have the right to return to Gaza, the president said, "No, they wouldn't."
The letter also came as Hamas on Monday suspended its next planned release of hostages taken in October 2023, citing Israel's deadly violations of a fragile cease-fire deal that took effect last month.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Israel Agrees to Cease-Fire With Lebanon's Hezbollah—But What About Gaza?
"It has long been clear that a cease-fire in Gaza is crucial to sustain any lasting cessation of hostilities across the region," said one group.
Nov 26, 2024
Peace advocates on Tuesday cautiously celebrated Israel agreeing to a cease-fire with the Lebanese political and paramilitary group Hezbollah while also stressing the need for an immediate end to the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip.
Despite concerns about whether the truce will actually happen, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), a U.S.-based Quaker group, welcomed the plans for it and called on "all parties to ensure this agreement is swiftly enacted."
"The time for peace is now—not just in Lebanon, but in Gaza and across the region," FCNL declared on social media. "We urge U.S. officials to ensure this agreement brings an immediate end to the Israeli government's devastating and indiscriminate bombing and attacks against Lebanese civilians, which have been fueled by U.S. weapons."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that the National Security Cabinet approved the cease-fire in Lebanon with a 10-1 vote—only far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir voted no. The office added that "Israel appreciates the U.S. contribution to the process, and reserves the right to act against any threat to its security."
Netanyahu said in a speech to Israelis that "the length of the cease-fire depends on what happens in Lebanon. With the United States' full understanding, we maintain full freedom of military action. If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we will attack. If it tries to rebuild terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack. If it launches a rocket, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings in a truck carrying rockets, we will attack."
Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden said that he worked with French President Emmanuel Macron to negotiate the cease-fire, which is set to begin at 4:00 am local time on Wednesday. The United States has spent at least tens of billions on Israeli military operations and related U.S. operations in the region since the Gaza-based Palestinian group Hamas led the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
"As Biden spoke tonight, Israel was raining U.S. bombs down on Lebanon and Gaza," notedDrop Site journalist Jeremy Scahill.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday thanked France and the United States for negotiating the truce, which he said is "a fundamental step towards establishing calm and stability in Lebanon" and "helps to establish regional stability." He also reiterated his government's intention to "strengthen the army's presence in the south."
Cross-border battles between Israeli forces and Hezbollah over the past nearly 14 months have displaced tens of thousands of people in Israel and over 1 million in Lebanon. The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Tuesday that Israel's assault—which has intensified since September—has killed at least 3,823 people and injured another 15,859.
In Gaza, the death toll is at least 44,249, with 104,746 wounded, according to local officials. Israeli forces have also decimated civilian infrastructure and displaced most of the enclave's 2.3 million residents, who are struggling to access necessities, due to limits on aid. Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court last week issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and a Hamas leader.
"It has long been clear that a cease-fire in Gaza is crucial to sustain any lasting cessation of hostilities across the region," said FCNL. "More violence and suffering in Gaza will not make Israel, the U.S., or anyone safer or more secure. It must end now. We reiterate our calls for our government to use all U.S. leverage to bring about a full regional cease-fire to end the horrific suffering of Palestinians, protect all civilians, return all hostages home, de-escalate regional tensions, and begin the long road toward healing."
"That must include prohibiting more offensive weapons shipments and U.S. military involvement, which would send a message of impunity to the Israeli [government] in the face of repeated and grave violations of U.S. and international law in Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank, and beyond," the group added—just days after a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate rejected a trio of resolutions from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that would have halted some arms sales to Israel.
Nancy Okail, president and CEO of the U.S.-based Center for International Policy, responded similarly to the Tuesday development, saying in a statement that "we welcome news of a cease-fire agreement in Lebanon and hope that it can be implemented and sustained to prevent further harm to civilians who have been under threat of attack or suffered other great loss during the fighting."
"This agreement nonetheless comes too late. While Israel has the right to legitimate self-defense against Hezbollah, the Netanyahu government's deliberate escalation of the conflict in September resulted in disproportionate harm to civilians, hundreds of whom have been wounded or killed, with hundreds of thousands more displaced," Okail said. "Mixed messages and prevaricating by the Biden administration on its position on Israel's escalation and the need for a cease-fire [have] further prolonged the fighting and exacerbated the death and destruction it has brought."
"The U.S. and its partners must ensure that the terms of this agreement are fully honored so that civilians on both sides of the border can safely return to and rebuild their communities," she added. "What remains of the utmost urgency, however, is also ending the war in Gaza, where the U.S. arming of the Netanyahu government's campaign of displacement, starvation, slaughter and—per the repeated vows of senior Israeli officials—settlement continues in violation of American and international law."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Van Hollen Backs Sanders Resolutions to Block US Arms Sales to Israel
"President Biden has failed to hold Netanyahu accountable—ignoring U.S. law and undercutting his own stated policies as well as America's interests and values," said the Democratic senator from Maryland.
Nov 18, 2024
Support for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' resolutions that would block U.S. weapons sales to Israel continued to grow on Monday, with Sen. Chris Van Hollen releasing a letter to colleagues urging them to join him in trying to pass the measures later this week.
Sanders (I-Vt.)—backed by Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)—introduced the joint resolutions of disapproval (JRDs) in September and announced last week that he would bring them to the floor for a vote.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) endorsed the JRDs last week, citing the failure of U.S. President Joe Biden's administration "to follow U.S. law and to suspend arms shipments" after warning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government last month that it could be cut off from American weapons absent serious action to improve humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip.
Van Hollen (D-Md.) followed suit Monday, unveiling his letter and saying in a statement that "U.S. taxpayer-funded assistance should not come in the form of a blank check—even to our closest partners. We need assurances that U.S. interests, values, and priorities will be respected by foreign governments that receive American support. That principle should apply universally, including to the Netanyahu government."
"We've seen Prime Minister Netanyahu repeatedly violate the terms of American security assistance, disregard U.S. priorities, and ignore our requests, only to be rewarded by President Biden."
"But even as the United States has provided billions of dollars of American taxpayer-financed bombs and other offensive weapons systems, we've seen Prime Minister Netanyahu repeatedly violate the terms of American security assistance, disregard U.S. priorities, and ignore our requests, only to be rewarded by President Biden," he continued. "That pattern undermines the credibility of the United States and should not persist."
Van Hollen highlighted that he has "repeatedly supported Israel's right to defend itself and end Hamas' control of Gaza" since the Palestinian group's October 7, 2023 attack—which includes his vote for an April aid package—but also argued that "a just war must be waged justly."
"That's why recipients of U.S. weapons must comply with American laws and policies. Recipients of security assistance must facilitate and not arbitrarily restrict the delivery of humanitarian assistance into war zones where U.S. weapons are being used, and American-supplied weapons must be used in accordance with international humanitarian law. The Netanyahu government is violating both of these requirements in Gaza," he explained. "It is also rejecting a host of other priorities advanced by the United States, yet President Biden has failed to hold Netanyahu accountable—ignoring U.S. law and undercutting his own stated policies as well as America's interests and values."
"Doing so undermines American global leadership and is a disservice to the American people, the people of Israel, and people throughout the Middle East," the senator warned. "That is why I have repeatedly stated that the United States should pause the delivery of offensive weapons to the Netanyahu government until it complies with U.S. law and policy and until we can advance the security interests, priorities, and values of the American people."
While stressing his support for "the transfer of defensive systems, like the Iron Dome," and his opposition to an arms embargo, which many rights groups have called for, Van Hollen concluded that he will vote for the JRDs this week because "a partnership must be a two-way street, not a one-way blank check."
The JRDs would have to pass both the Democrat-controlled Senate and the Republican-held House of Representatives to reach Biden's desk. They would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override presidential vetoes. The push to pass the resolutions comes as lawmakers prepare for the GOP to control Congress and the White House next year following the elections earlier this month.
"The United States government must stop blatantly violating the law with regard to arms sales to Israel," Sanders wrote in The Washington Post on Monday. "The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act are very clear: The United States cannot provide weapons to any country that violates internationally recognized human rights. Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act is also explicit: No U.S. assistance may be provided to any country that 'prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance.'"
The resolutions are also backed by over 100 organizations, including the Center for Civilians in Conflict and Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), which led a letter to senators last month.
Hassan El-Tayyab, legislative director for Middle East policy, described the upcoming vote as "historic," tellingAl Jazeera on Monday, "Just the fact that this is happening is already sending that political signal that it's not business as usual."
"There is no military solution to the conflict in Gaza—only a diplomatic one that addresses root causes of violence," El-Tayyab said as the death toll in the Palestinian enclave neared 44,000.
"Instead of sending more weapons, Congress and the administration should leverage military aid with Bibi [Netanyahu] and the Knesset to finally get them to accept a cease-fire deal in Gaza and Lebanon," he added. "And that, I think, is a far better strategy to secure Israel's defense and protect Palestinian human rights."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular