SARAH LEAH WHITSON, swhitson@dawnmena.org, @sarahleah1
RAED JARRAR, rjarrar@dawnmena.org, @raedjarrar
Sarah Leah Whitson is executive director of the group Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN); Jarrar is advocacy director for the group, which was founded by slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
DAWN just released a statement: “U.S. Should Push Israel to End War Crimes, Accept Ceasefire” which says: “The United States should oppose any Israeli actions that could result in the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.”
The group urged Congress to “reject a supplementary funding bill that proposes funding humanitarian aid to Palestinians who have been displaced from Gaza to neighboring countries. Israeli actions, statements, and policy directives, including a leaked policy document drafted by the Israeli intelligence ministry that recommends the permanent forced transfer of Palestinians in Gaza to Sinai, indicate that Israel is actively considering forcibly displacing Palestinians in Gaza to third countries.”
Sarah Leah Whitson said: “The Biden administration isn’t just giving a green light for ethnic cleansing — it’s bankrolling it. Gaslighting Americans into facilitating long-held Israeli plans to depopulate Gaza under the cover of ‘humanitarian aid’ is a cruel and grotesque hoax.”
“The best way to protect Palestinian civilians from the wrath of war is to announce and enforce a ceasefire,” said Jarrar. “Rather than pushing Palestinians to Egypt, Israel should allow Palestinian civilians to cross the apartheid fence into Israel. Maybe Palestinians can set up tent cities in the same towns and villages they were displaced from during the first Nakba 75 years ago.”
The group explains: “Supporting Israeli efforts to forcibly transfer Palestinians to Egypt would make U.S. officials liable for complicity in war crimes. Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court includes the ‘Deportation or forcible transfer of population’ as a war crime. Article 25 of the same statute defines individual criminal responsibility and states that a person shall be criminally responsible and liable for punishment for a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court if that person ‘aids, abets or otherwise assists in its commission or its attempted commission, including providing the means for its commission.’ …
“There is ample evidence that Israel is working to ensure that Gaza is uninhabitable and to force Palestinians to flee to Egypt. Since October 10, 2023, Israel has imposed a ‘complete siege‘ on Gaza, cutting off the distribution of fuel, food, water, medicine, and electricity in violation of the laws of war. …
“The Israeli government appears to be implementing a plan to permanently move Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt. On October 28, 2023, a local Israeli newspaper leaked a policy memo by the Israeli Intelligence Ministry that recommends forcibly and permanently transferring the Gaza population to Sinai, and harnessing the international community for the move.” See reports on the revelation from CommonDreams and WikiLeaks.
Jarrar was recently featured on the IPA news release: “Is Israel Killing U.S. Citizens by Refusing a Ceasefire?“
