Operation Cast Lead
On the Two Year Anniversary of Operation Cast
Lead
On December
27, 2008, the government of Israel began a 22-day military assault on
the Gaza Strip killing 1400 people including at least 350 children, and
destroying homes, hospitals, schools, industry and infrastructure.
Since then, the Israeli blockade of Gaza has made it virtually
impossible for the people living there to rebuild and recover any
semblance of normalcy or quality of life.
A year ago a dozen Veterans For Peace members joined
1400 other international activists in Cairo as part of the Gaza Freedom
March. They were attempting to break the blockade of Gaza imposed by
the Israeli government. This newly released Code
Pink video features VFP members Col Ann Wright, and Holocaust
survivor Hedy Epstein, and documents that powerful action.
Now, two years have passed
since the horrific assault known as Operation Cast Lead. The crippling
blockade continues and the government of Israel has yet to be held
accountable for what the Goldstone Report documented to be violations of
international law, including the use of illegal weapons such as white
phosphorus. But even more troubling is the fact that the U.S. government
is complicit in these grievous crimes. Not only do we give Israel
billions of dollars worth of military equipment and weapons, but then we
protect Israel when they are misused by blocking attempts of the
international community to investigate and hold Israel accountable.
Veterans For Peace calls
upon the US government to:
Discontinue all military aid to Israel,
Make any and all future aid to Israel contingent on Israeli adherence
to all applicable international laws and UN resolutions,
Refrain from exercising US veto power
in the UN Security Council to block acceptance of the Goldstone
Commission Report, and referral of suspected war crimes to the
International Criminal Court and/or international sanctions arising from
it.
Peace supports the rights of all people to live freely and without
fear. We are deeply concerned about the welfare of the people living in
the Gaza Strip and we demand an immediate lifting of the blockade.