Since December 27, Israel’s brutal attacks on the occupied Gaza Strip have killed more than an estimated 640 people and injured more than 3,000. Today Israeli artillery shells landed on a UN school in the Jebaliya refugee camp, killing at least 34 people and injuring at least 55.

Israel's attacks come on top of a brutal siege of the Gaza Strip, which has created a humanitarian catastrophe of dire proportions for Gaza's 1.5 million Palestinian residents by restricting the provision of food, fuel, medicine, electricity, and other necessities of life.

Make no mistake about it-Israel's war and siege on the Gaza Strip would not be possible without the jets, helicopters, ships, missiles, and fuel provided by the United States.

From 2001-2006, the United States transferred to Israel more than $200 million worth of spare parts to fly its fleet of F16's and more than $100 million worth of helicopter spare parts for its fleet of Apaches. In July 2008, the United States gave Israel 186 million gallons of JP-8 aviation jet fuel and signed a contract to transfer an addition $1.9 billion worth of littoral combat ships to the Israeli navy. Last year, the United States signed a $1.3 billion contract with Raytheon to transfer to Israel thousands of TOW, Hellfire, and "bunker buster" missiles.

Additional troubling details continue to emerge about the misuse of U.S. weapons by Israel:

* Israel is dropping GBU-39 small diameter bombs on the Gaza Strip. According to weapons experts, these bombs contain uranium oxide and have left behind radioactive contamination in places such as Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. In September 2008, Boeing received a $77 million contract to transfer 1,000 of these bombs to Israel.

* On December 30, the Israeli navy intentionally rammed a boat in international waters which was carrying medical supplies to the Gaza Strip, nearly causing it to sink. The passengers of The Dignity included doctors and recent Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney. In July 2008, the United States signed a contract to transfer $1.9 billion of naval combat ships to Israel.

Download a fact sheet, "Israel is Killing Palestinians in Gaza w/ U.S. Weapons" to learn more.

TAKE ACTION NOW

1. Take to the streets and make your opposition public. Thousands of people have already taken to the streets in New York, Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dearborn, MI and dozens of other cities to protest Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip. We’re maintaining a comprehensive listing of all protests—nearly 200 in more than 35 states and 100 cities so far—on our website and updating it continuously. Join a protest near you or organize one and send us the details.

If you know of an event that is not included, please send the details to us by clicking here (please select "Emergency Gaza Protest/Vigil/March")

We must keep up the protests until there is a cease-fire and a lifting of the siege of Gaza. We’re calling on everyone to continue to organize protests in your community.

2. Educate and organize people in your community. Download a flyer by clicking here and a petition by clicking here and make copies.

Download and distribute our fact sheet "Israel is Killing Palestinians in Gaza w/ U.S. Weapons."

Also, sign up as a volunteer organizer to challenge military aid to Israel by clicking here and we’ll send you an organizing packet with fact sheets, petitions, and the postcards below.

3. Contact your elected representatives and set up emergency meetings with your Members of Congress before January 6. Demand from the President, your Representative, and Senators an unconditional, immediate cease-fire; full humanitarian access to Gaza and a lifting of Israel’s siege; and accountability for Israel’s misuse of U.S. weapons to kill Palestinian civilians. Send your letter today by clicking here.

Congress is scheduled to go back into session on Jan. 6. Until then, many Members of Congress are in their home districts. Assemble a delegation of concerned constituents and request an immediate meeting with them. For contact information, click here. For tips on how to arrange a meeting, click here.

In these meetings, ask your Members of Congress to send a public letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and make a public statement with the political demands above. To download a sample letter to give to your Members of Congress, click here.

Also give them a copy of our open-letter to President Elect-Obama signed by more than 250 organizations entitled “We Need a Change in Israel/Palestine Policy” to show them that there is growing and widespread opposition to our country’s policy of support for Israel’s human rights abuses of Palestinians. Download a PDF copy of the letter by clicking here.

If you can take the lead in arranging an emergency meeting with your Members of Congress, please fill out this brief form by clicking here.

5. Step Up the Pressure on the New Administration and Congress. Sign our open letter to President Elect-Obama by clicking here. This open letter will be published as a full-page ad on Inauguration Day. Add your individual and organizational endorsements to it today by clicking here.

Then spread the word by copying and pasting the flash graphic below into your email signature, blog, social networking site, or webpage and join our Facebook group and forward it to all your friends.

Also be sure to go to Change.gov to let the Obama transition team know that you demand:

1) Pressure on Israel for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire

2) Unimpeded access of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and a lifting of Israel’s siege

3) An investigation into Israel’s misuse of U.S. weapons as a first step toward ending arms transfers to Israel

For suggested language, check out our letter to Members of Congress by clicking here.

Once you log into change.gov, you can ask President-Elect Obama a question about U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine. Click here for instructions on logging into change.gov

You can vote on other people’s questions, indicating your stance on issues like the bombing of Gaza, U.S. military aid, and Israeli apartheid policies.

Join us in Washington, DC on January 20 for Inauguration Day to say “Yes We Can…End U.S. Military Aid to Israel!” Sign up to help us pass out information and collect signatures by clicking here.

And join us again in Washington, DC for a Grassroots Advocacy Training and Lobby Day on February 1-2 with Interfaith Peace-Builders. Gain the skills you need to change U.S. policy toward Palestine/Israel to support human rights, international law, and equality, and express your concerns directly to your Members of Congress. Space is filling up fast. For more information and to register, click here.

6. Donate more money to us and give less of your taxes to Israel’s war machine. Make a tax-deductible contribution today to the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation by clicking here. Owe less in taxes for 2008 by making your contribution before midnight (we’ll gladly accept your donation in the New Year too) to make sure that less of your money goes to fund Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians. Make the most generous contribution you can right now by clicking here.