For Immediate Release: March 10th, 2010
U.S. Must Follow Up Calls for Israeli Accountability with Concrete Steps
Washington, DC-- The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (US
Campaign) welcomed today Vice President Joe Biden's statement
"condemn[ing] the decision by the government of Israel to advance
planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem" and his promise that
the United States will hold Israel "accountable for any statements or
actions that inflame tensions or prejudice the outcome of talks."
According to Josh Ruebner, National Advocacy Director of the US
Campaign, "It's about time that the Obama Administration is threatening
to hold Israel accountable for obstructing U.S. policy goals to end
illegal settlement expansion in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West
Bank and East Jerusalem and lift the illegal blockade of the
Israeli-occupied Palestinian Gaza Strip."
"The
Obama Administration must move from warnings to concrete steps to hold
Israel accountable for its ongoing defiance of U.S. policy goals and
international law," Ruebner added. "The most appropriate
way of holding Israel accountable would be to cut off the $3 billion in
military aid to Israel proposed by President Obama in his FY2011 budget
request."
Last month, the US Campaign launched a new website- http://www.aidtoisrael.org
-that documents how U.S. military aid to Israel is being misused to
injure and kill Palestinian civilians and to commit human rights abuses
and violations of international law through Israel's illegal 42-year
military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and
Gaza Strip. The website also documents the budgetary
trade-offs in terms of affordable housing, green jobs training, early
reading education programs, and primary health care that could have
been funded with this money instead.
The US Campaign is organizing a multi-year campaign to challenge
continued military aid to Israel and call for the United States to hold
Israel accountable for its misuse of U.S. military aid in violation of
the Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act.
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is a national coalition
of more than 325 organizations working to change U.S. policy toward
Israel/Palestine to support human rights, international law, and
equality. For additional information, please see: http://www.endtheoccupation.org