PNN/ Bethlehem
A letter signed by 64 members of the US Congress addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday called on the US administration to oppose Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank and a specificity in East Jerusalem, and to reject US funding for the demolitions.
“We are writing with concern about the continued demolition of homes and the forcible transfer of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, including recent demolitions in Wadi Homs and other communities in East Jerusalem,” the letter said. We urge you to pressure the Israeli government to prevent the forcible transfer of more families and the destruction of their homes.
As the letter, which was led by Representatives Ru Khana, Anna Ashu and Steve Cohen, stated, “The Israeli government recently accelerated the rate of house demolitions, and in the West Bank, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs registered an increase of 45% In demolitions of houses and other civilian buildings in 2019 compared to 2018.
And the letter requests the State Department to examine Israel’s compliance with the requirements of the Arms Export Control Law to ensure that equipment provided by the United States is not used to destroy Palestinian homes.
The signers state that “the United States“ must act to prevent unlawful home demolitions, the forced transfer of civilians everywhere in the world, and prevent the use of American equipment in this devastating practice. ”
Representative Khanna said: “The military equipment provided by the United States to Israel should only be used for legitimate self-defense against the real security threats facing Israel. Such military equipment should not be used To turn Palestinian homes into ruins of family displacement and tearing apart societies, I look to the State Department to provide the information necessary to ensure that the military equipment provided by the United States in the West Bank is not used in this devastating practice. “
The letter also endorsed J Street, Amnesty International in the USA, Churches for Peace in the Middle East, Friends Committee for National Legislation, and Win without War.
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