"... Fifteen leaders of U.S. churches and other faith-based
organizations have asked Congress to reevaluate U.S. military aid to
Israel.The religious leaders sent a letter to Congress members on Monday,
calling for an investigation into possible violations by Israel of the U.S.
Foreign Assistance Act and the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, which would make
Israel ineligible for U.S. military aid.
“As Christian leaders in the United
States, it is our moral responsibility to question the continuation of
unconditional U.S. financial assistance to the government of Israel. Realizing a
just and lasting peace will require this accountability, as continued U.S.
military assistance to Israel – offered without conditions or accountability –
will only serve to sustain the status quo and Israel’s military occupation of
the Palestinian territories,... ...
We request, therefore, that Congress hold
Israel accountable to these standards by making the disbursement of U.S.
military assistance to Israel contingent on the Israeli government’s compliance
with applicable U.S. laws and policies....
We write to you as Christian leaders
representing U.S. churches and religious organizations committed to seeking a
just peace for Israelis and Palestinians,” the letter said, adding that the
organizations have “worked alongside our Palestinian Christian sisters and
brothers to help build a peaceful and resilient Palestinian civil society.” The
signatories said they were writing to Congress “to express our grave concern
about the deteriorating conditions in Israel and the occupied Palestinian
territories....
Accordingly,
we urge an immediate investigation into possible violations by Israel of the
U.S. Foreign Assistance Act and the U.S. Arms Export Control Act which
respectively prohibit assistance to any country which engages in a consistent
pattern of human rights violations and limit the use of U.S. weapons to
“internal security” or “legitimate self-defense.”
....
More
broadly, we urge Congress to undertake careful scrutiny to ensure that our aid
is not supporting actions by the government of Israel that undermine prospects
for peace. We urge Congress to hold hearings to examine Israel’s compliance, and
we request regular reporting on compliance and the withholding of military aid
for non-compliance.
In addition to
specific rights violations, we see a troubling and consistent pattern of
disregard by the government of Israel for U.S. policies that support a just and
lasting peace. Specifically, repeated demands by the U.S. government that Israel
halt all settlement activity have been ignored. Since 1967, every U.S.
administration has decried Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian
territories as obstacles to peace. Despite this stance, Israel continues to
expand its settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, claiming territory
that under international law and U.S. policy should belong to a future
Palestinian state. The Oslo peace process, which began in 1993, was publicly
promoted as leading Israelis and Palestinians to a just peace based on a
two-state solution. Instead, since 1993, the number of Israeli settlers in the
West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has more than doubled. Rights violations
resulting from Israeli settlement activity include separate and unequal legal
systems for Palestinians and settlers, confiscation of Palestinian land and
natural resources for the benefit of settlers, and violence by settlers against
Palestinians.
The letter was
criticized by AIPAC....."
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