End the Israeli Massacre in Gaza

12 January 2009

Beginning on 26 December 2008, and continuing in full force since then, the ruthless assault of the
Israeli Defense Force against the civilian population of the Gaza Strip has already claimed the lives of
over 900 people, 70% of whom are civilians. Thousands more civilians, largely women and children,
have been injured, and over 20,000 have been internally displaced. The merciless genocide taking place
in Gaza at this very moment constitutes a crime against humanity.

Israel blatantly defied the United Nations, who has called for an immediate ceasefire, by stating that a
ceasefire is “not an option.” Israel furthermore had the audacity to level a complaint with the United
Nations when a vehicle of theirs was damaged when they were fired on in the Golan Heights, which
they are illegally occupying. On 4 January 2009, IDF soldiers moved 110 Palestinian civilians into a
single-residence house in the suburbs of Gaza City, without any food or water, and ordered them to
stay indoors. 24 hours later, Israeli jets targeted the residence, killing 30 people. Israel then
proceeded to prevent humanitarian and relief efforts from reaching the besieged area, shooting and
killing six Red Crescent paramedics.

Israel is also utilizing white phosphorous against the people of Gaza. The chemical, which is highly toxic,
burns when it comes into content with oxygen. It is the cause of massive destruction, as houses across
Gaza burn to the ground after being blanketed in white phosphorous. Furthermore, it causes human
flesh to be burned away, leaving exposed bone. While the chemical’s use is legal in warfare to obscure
a force’s movements, reports from humanitarian organizations within Gaza say that Israel is directly
targeting inhabited areas.

Israel, in its invasion of Gaza, is not only attempting to overthrow the democratically elected
government of Gaza. It is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. I call upon all people
and organizations that seek to promote peace and the betterment of humanity to condemn this illegal
and imperialist invasion, which clearly illustrates that there are only two types of politicians within Israel
who hold any form of power whatsoever. One type seeks the eradication of the Palestinian people and
the annexation of Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank by Israel. The other type seeks to establish
a Palestinian state, not as a sovereign equal, but as a puppet state not unlike the Bantustans under
apartheid rule in South Africa, entirely subject to the will of Israel.

All people who see the plight of the Gazan people have a moral duty to condemn this massacre, and
to express this condemnation to our government and to our politicians, who doubly share this moral
duty as our elected officials. As a united voice, let us proclaim our demands for an end to the policies
of apartheid and state terrorism that the Zionist regime within Israel, by their actions in Gaza,
obviously endorses. Let us proclaim our support for a free and sovereign Palestine!