Josephine Guilbeau described the Gaza hunger crisis that was brought on by Israel, but her voice remained unbroken as it grew louder and louder outside the US Capitol.
What level of evil is required for a human being to choose to starve a child as a means of war, as a weapon of war? What has the nation of America become?” the 17-year veteran of the US Army stated on Thursday.
In urging the lawmakers and US President Donald Trump to listen to the American people and end their unequivocal support for Israel, Guilbeau joined several other veterans, doctors, former officials, and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.
According to UN agencies and local health officials, the advocates banged on empty pots outside the Capitol to raise awareness of Gaza’s starvation. Many people haven’t eaten in days and over 100 have died from hunger as a result of the Israeli blockade.
The US’s role in facilitating Israel’s conduct was highlighted in photos of affamished Palestinian children, doctors, and veterans, who were holding photos of them.
Tlaib urged her congressional colleagues to join their constituents in protesting Israeli atrocities.
Despite recent public opinion surveys, Congress continues to be steadfastly supportive of Israel on a bipartisan basis despite growing public dissatisfaction with the US public with Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Tlaib remarked to reporters outside the US Capitol, “Americans serving in Congress, wake up because the American people have been telling you repeatedly, “We’re not in support of this.”
“So perhaps for a moment, would you listen to your constituents?” Poll them in the same way that you poll everything else. They will say they don’t want one freaking dime to starve everyone.
Stop facilitating the genocide.
Tlaib made an apparent critique of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s opposition to a bill that would stop Israel’s $500 million in missile defense aid.
The amendment, which Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced last week, was only supported by six lawmakers.
One of the 422 legislators who voted against the proposal, Ocasio-Cortez, argued, doesn’t stop the Palestinians from bombarding their homes.
Tlaib, however, made the suggestion on Thursday that she is unconvinced by that justification.
Let’s stop allowing the genocide, the Palestinian American congresswoman said, “No matter what weapons I have; I don’t care whether it’s offensive or defensive, whatever you call it.”
Ocasio-Cortez has referred to Israel’s occupation of Gaza as a genocide and supported restrictions on the movement’s access to weapons, but her vote last week sparked a backlash from left-leaning activists who claimed any weapons given to Israel would allow its bombardment of Palestinian territory.
Despite allegations of rights violations that would render Israel ineligible for security aid under US law, Washington annually provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel.
Israel is accused of committing a genocide in Gaza by UN experts and leading human rights organizations.
After a 20-year career in protest of a government report that claimed Israel is halting aid to Palestinians, Stacy Gilbert, who resigned from the US Department of State last year, claimed on Thursday that the starvation in Gaza was the result of Israel’s “deliberate” choice.
According to Gilbert, “I am calling on Trump to end this disastrous policy of unwavering military support for Israel that began under Joe Biden.”
Doctor says Trump’s supporters “failed”
The US president has the authority and leverage to end the war, according to Nidal Jboor, a Michigan-based physician with the group Doctors Against Genocide.
“You’re as sleepy as Joe was if you don’t stop it today.” Jboor referred to Trump as “Sleepy Joe,” which he used to refer to as “It’s your call”.
This is not who we are, he said. Better than this, Americans. What we are supporting in Gaza does not restore America’s greatness. Stop the area where people are killed. Aid to evacuate Gaza. Put an end to genocide. What we did and what we failed to do will be remembered by history at this time and this moment.
Trump allegedly promised to bring peace to the region by courting the sizable Arab and Muslim communities in Michigan during the election campaign last year.
The US president initially credited the January truce with being successful. However, he suggested removing all Palestinians from Gaza shortly after taking office earlier this year, which rights groups claim would be considered ethnic cleansing, a crime against humanity.
Additionally, he has continued to support Israel, and his administration has supported Israel’s support for the Gaza siege, the upending of the aid system, and the resumption of the war in March.
Trump’s Arab and Muslim supporters, according to Jboor, “failed” his supporters.
The doctor told Al Jazeera, “People were voting for him because he promised peace, and now he’s breaking his promises.”
US praises GHF
The US and Israel launched an initiative in May to monopolize aid distribution through a private organization known as GHF.
However, Palestinians and human rights organizations have called the GHF aid distribution sites, which are located deep inside Israeli army-controlled areas, “death traps.”
Hunderte of people have been killed by Israeli troops who have been shooting at aid seekers every day.
The US proudly claims that GHF has distributed 90 million meals since May, but the figure represents only a small portion of the food that the territory’s two million residents need.
Israel has recently allowed some aid convoys to enter the north of Gaza, but Israeli shelling and firing has also occurred there.
The US has been promoting the GHF operation as a success despite the bloodshed, refuting false claims that Hamas steals aid from the UN and its partners.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told reporters on Thursday that the US is “aware” of the humanitarian situation in the area and wants to see the destruction put an end to.
According to Pigott, “We have seen this commitment to get aid to the people who need it, in a way where Hamas doesn’t use it,” he continued, referring to GHF.
Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said, “There is no nation that feeds its enemies. There is no nation that feeds its enemies.” Shortly before Pigott made his continued support for GHF.
According to The Times of Israel, Eliyahu stated in a radio interview that “the government is racing ahead for Gaza to be completely eradicated.”
The advocates on Capitol Hill appeared confident that their voices could influence policy even after 22 months of conflict, which have seen the crisis worsen and the death toll rise daily.
Guilbeau, a veteran US Army officer, told Al Jazeera, “We must change the minds of our leaders and make them understand that if they do not stop funding Israel, we will vote them out.” “Every voice is so powerful to move the needle,” Guilbeau said.
Source: Aljazeera
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