To: The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Donald Trump
Israel: Stop Shooting Unarmed Palestinians
Demand members of Congress from both parties condemn the violence against unarmed Palestinians and encourage all those involved to recommit to finding a nonviolent resolution.
Why is this important?
Many decent Israeli teens—drafted into the Israeli army—have been ordered to shoot into crowds of unarmed civilian Gazans protesters. Following these orders is a violation of international law and human rights, and might be punishable decades from now in light of the many Gazans who have already been killed or wounded, yet refusing an order from their superior officers would likely result in being jailed by the Israeli military. These soldiers should not be placed in this situation, and nonviolent protesters should not be met with lethal force.
The massacre of unarmed Palestinians living in Gaza is a violation of international law and universally accepted standards of human rights. B'tselem, the Israeli Human Rights organization, has called upon Israelis to recognize that they have an obligation in International Law to reject the orders of superiors that tell them to shoot into crowds of unarmed civilians, even if a handful of those civilians take provocative actions like attempting to cut down the border fence or burn tires or even throw Molotov cocktails at the well-armed Israeli soldiers (though most of those killed and the thousands who have been wounded by Israeli guns in this latest outburst of violence did none of these things).
The massacre of unarmed Palestinians living in Gaza is a violation of international law and universally accepted standards of human rights. B'tselem, the Israeli Human Rights organization, has called upon Israelis to recognize that they have an obligation in International Law to reject the orders of superiors that tell them to shoot into crowds of unarmed civilians, even if a handful of those civilians take provocative actions like attempting to cut down the border fence or burn tires or even throw Molotov cocktails at the well-armed Israeli soldiers (though most of those killed and the thousands who have been wounded by Israeli guns in this latest outburst of violence did none of these things).