US Must Hold Israel Accountable for Gaza Land Day Killings

On Friday, March 30, 30,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip began six weeks of sit-ins and demonstrations to demand their internationally recognized right of return to the villages they were displaced from in 1948, which lie just a few miles away on the other side of Israel’s prison fence.

As they exercised their right to protest, the Israeli military met them with lethal and excessive force. 100 Israeli military snipers, prepositioned with shoot-to-kill orders, used live fire on the demonstrators and killed at least 18 Palestinians and injuring more than 1,400.

According to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has a right to peaceful assembly and to return to their country. Moreover, the use of lethal force is illegal under international law except in cases of imminent threats to life. Though Human Rights Watch has asserted that Israel’s actions were “unlawful” and “calculated,” Israel thinks it can continue to act with impunity.

Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign assistance, receiving $3.8 billion in taxpayer-funded weapons each year. US laws are supposed to prevent these weapons from being used to commit human rights abuses. It is past time to end Israel’s impunity to using excessive force against Palestinians.

Email your Members of Congress now to demand the US open an investigation into Israel’s unlawful killing of Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to hold Israel accountable.

Palestinians have the right to protest without paying for it with their lives.

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