WASHINGTON, DC, July 2, 2011 (WAFA) – The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) Friday expressed “deep concern” over recent statements issued by the US Department of State warning US citizens against traveling to Gaza.
It said in a statement issued in Washington, DC, that the State Department had issued a travel warning to US citizens against their participation in a flotilla bound for Gaza to break a five-year long Israeli air, sea and land blockade.
“As a result of the ongoing Israeli siege, Palestinians in Gaza have been suffering physical and psychological trauma, economic strangulation, the destruction of infrastructure, injury and death,” said the ADC statement.
Peace activists from all over the world are planning to join the Audacity of Hope flotilla, which will travel with humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea.
The Israeli navy attacked last year’s flotilla when naval forces boarded the Turkish Mavi Marmara vessel in international waters killing nine peace activists, including one US citizen.
An independent investigation by the United Nations Human Rights Council found that Israel had violated international humanitarian and human rights laws in its conduct. Specifically, it found evidence of “willful killing; torture or inhuman treatment, willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health.”
In apparent anticipation of the Audacity of Hope setting sail for Gaza, the State Department published a travel warning on June 22 stating that “U.S. citizens are advised against traveling to Gaza by any means, including via sea,” said the ADC statement. The State Department then released a press statement on June 24 saying “[g]roups that seek to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza are taking irresponsible and provocative actions that risk the safety of their passengers.”
“With no comment about the moral deficiency or illegality of Israeli actions last year upon the Mavi Marmara, nor any warning to Israel about its responsibility to respect international humanitarian and human rights laws, these statements may be misconstrued as offering Israel the ‘green light’ to act with impunity,” said ADC.
It called on the US government to clarify its position, “which is undoubtedly first and foremost its commitment to the safety of US citizens and the protection of their rights under all circumstances.” It also called on the US government “to clearly warn Israel that illegal actions against US citizens, such as those conducted by Israeli forces last year, will not be tolerated by the United States.”
ADC is the largest grassroots Arab-American civil rights and civil liberties organization in the US. It was founded in 1980 by former US Senator James Abourezk. ADC has a national network of chapters and members in all 50 states.
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