{"id":30732,"date":"2023-12-21T22:08:16","date_gmt":"2023-12-22T06:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=30732"},"modified":"2023-12-21T22:08:17","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T06:08:17","slug":"rights-groups-tell-pentagon-chief-to-withhold-military-aid-to-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/12\/21\/rights-groups-tell-pentagon-chief-to-withhold-military-aid-to-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"Rights Groups Tell Pentagon Chief to Withhold Military Aid to Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Lloyd<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (left) shakes hands with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (right) in Brussels on June 15, 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo: Elad Malcha\/Israeli Defense Ministry)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“To protect civilians in Gaza… administration rhetoric on the protection of civilians must be backed by action and leverage.”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

BRETT WILKINS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dec 21, 2023 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citing the “staggering civilian death and destruction” caused by Israel’s 76-day war on Gaza, a group of 14 humanitarian organizations on Wednesday urged Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to withhold U.S. military aid to Israel and take other steps to protect Palestinian noncombatants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a letter<\/a> to Austin, the groups\u2014Airwars, Amnesty International<\/a> USA, Anera, Center for Civilians in Conflict, Humanity & Inclusion, Human Rights Watch, InterAction, M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res\/Doctors Without Borders USA, Norwegian Refugee Council USA, Oxfam America, PAX, Refugees International, Save the Children U.S., and Zomia Cente\u2014asserted that the Pentagon’s response to Israel’s obliteration of Gaza “has failed to live up to and… actively undermined” the Defense Department’s Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan<\/a><\/em> (CHMR-AP<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Israel’s operations… continue to cause devastating levels of civilian harm and destruction and inhibit the provision of life-saving humanitarian aid\u2014all using U.S. support.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published<\/a> last year, CHMR-AP<\/em> lays out a series of policy steps aimed at preventing and responding to the death and injury of noncombatants. The plan was widely welcomed, but was also met with skepticism by critics who noted that the U.S. military has killed more foreign civilians than any other armed force in the world since the end of World War II, including<\/a> hundreds of thousands of noncombatants during the ongoing<\/a> global War on Terror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Israel’s operations… continue to cause devastating levels of civilian harm and destruction and inhibit the provision of life-saving humanitarian aid\u2014all using U.S. support. The result is civilian harm at a massive scale amidst a humanitarian crisis,” the letter notes. “To protect civilians in Gaza and live up to the aspirations of the CHMR-AP<\/em>, administration rhetoric on the protection of civilians must be backed by action and leverage.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open letter to Secretary Austin: Act now to protect civilians in Gaza

Today we joined @CivCenter<\/a> @hrw<\/a> @amnestyusa<\/a> and other orgs in calling on @SecDef<\/a> Lloyd J. Austin III to take urgent steps to ensure the protection of civilians in US-supported Israeli military operations in\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ZI6vIOzrcV<\/a><\/p>— Doctors w\/o Borders (@MSF_USA) December 20, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>