AMP, rights groups call for an end to Israel’s collective punishment of Palestinians

(CHICAGO 06/23/2014) — The American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), a national education and advocacy organization, adds its voice to the growing call for Israel to immediately stop its collective punishment of the Palestinian people, which has been ongoing since three Israeli settlers went missing on June 12. Israel’s disproportionate use of deadly force, massive arrests, administrative detentions, home demolitions, and airstrikes on Gaza go above and beyond rescue efforts for three Israeli settlers.

Amnesty International and several other human rights organizations on Sunday sent a letter to the Israeli Minister of Defense and Minister of Public Security demanding they refrain from collectively punishing the civilian Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The letter states Israel’s actions “harm the Palestinian population and do not serve” to secure the Israeli settlers’ safe return. In fact, the actions amount to collective punishment, in direct contravention of international law, the letter said.

 AMP also calls on the American media to refrain from passively disseminating Israeli propaganda about the missing Israelis and report on the issue from within the larger context of Israel’s occupation of Palestine. For instance, the American media largely ignored the fact that in the first 10 days of June – two days before the Israeli settlers went missing – Israeli forces kidnapped at least 17 Palestinian children, many in the middle of the night from their own beds, according to media reports.

Since the settlers disappeared, Israel has unleashed a violent invasion of the West Bank and increased its airstrikes on Gaza. As of Sunday, June 22, Israeli forces have killed five Palestinians, including 14-year-old Mahmoud Jihad Muhammad Dudeen and 10-year-old Ali al-‘Awour. Thousands of homes have been raided and at least 500 Palestinians have been arrested, according to some media reports. As of Monday, June 23, 104 of the arrested have been sentenced to administrative detention, meaning they could be held indefinitely without charge or trial. These new detainees come at a time when 125 Palestinian political prisoners are nearing their third month of a hunger strike to protest the use of administrative detention, which is against international law.

And now Israel is planning to force-feed hunger-striking Palestinian political prisoners in what prisoner rights’ group Addameer calls, torture on an “industrial scale.”
The World Medical Association has labeled force-feeding torture per the Malta and Tokyo Declarations and has advised doctors from participating in the act.

“Israel’s actions, as in the past, are disproportionate to the situation and do nothing but violate international law and Palestinians’ rights to health, safety, freedom of movement and the expectation of a reasonable quality of life, all rights enshrined in international law,” said Dr. Hatem Bazian, AMP chairman.

AMP condemns the collective punishment being perpetrated upon the Palestinians and calls for its immediate cessation. AMP also condemns the use of administrative detention and the threat of force-feeding and calls on President Barak Obama and US Secretary of State John Kerry to demand Israel abide by international law and the same standards for human rights we apply to other countries.