[LCM Articles] Cease-Fire Now! Take Emergency Action

[Brahim Dagher]

FROM: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3341

ACTION:
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A Joint Call from United for Peace and Justice &
the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (www.endtheoccupation.org)

Qana Victims Killed by Israel with U.S. Weapons
Demand that Congress Support Cease-fire Resolutions and
End Weapons Deliveries to Israel Now!



THIS WEEK: Call Congress and the White House Every Day
NEXT WEEK: Emergency Week of Action, Aug. 7-11


On Sunday Israel bombed a residential apartment building in the Lebanese 
village of Qana, killing 57 civilians, including 37 children (see below for 
details).

When U.S. soldiers killed civilians in Fallujah and other densely populated 
areas of Iraq, the Bush Administration claimed the "war on terror" justified 
such actions. But nothing justifies bombing innocent civilians, no matter 
who does it or in what country.

It is likely that U.S. weapons provided to Israel with U.S.-taxpayer dollars 
killed the villagers of Qana. According to The Washington Post, a bomb 
fragment found at the Qana bombing site read "For use on MK-84, Guided Bomb 
BSU-37/B." MK-84s are free-fall unguided bombs; Boeing-produced Joint Direct 
Attack Munitions (JDAMs) are attached to MK-84s to convert them into 
GPS-guided "smart" bombs. Between 2002-2004, the Pentagon notified Congress 
of impending sales of 6,000 JDAMs and 2,590 MK-84s to Israel through its 
Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program -- valued at $346 million.

There is no military solution to the current conflict. The Iraq war hasn't 
brought peace or security to the people of Iraq or the U.S. Bombing civilian 
populations has not and will not bring greater peace or security to the 
people of Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel.

The only way out of the carnage is an immediate and unconditional 
cease-fire, followed by multiparty negotiations to resolve the underlying 
political disputes based on human rights and international law. Most of the 
world agrees, but the governments of the U.S., Britain, and Israel have so 
far rejected calls for an immediate cease-fire.

So long as Washington provides military and diplomatic support to Israel's 
indiscriminate killing of civilians, a cease-fire will not be possible. It 
is time for the people of this country to speak up! United for Peace and 
Justice, along with UFPJ member group the U.S. Campaign to End Israeli 
Occupation, calls on you to take action to press Congress and the White 
House to back an immediate cease-fire and prevent Israel from using U.S. 
weapons to commit war crimes.


TAKE ACTION THIS WEEK: Call Congress and the White House

Call your Congressperson and the White House every day this week and demand 
an immediate cease-fire and a Presidential report to Congress on Israel's 
misuse of U.S.-supplied weapons to kill civilians and destroy civilian 
infrastructure in violation of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act.

Call 202-456-1111 or email comments at whitehouse.gov today to reach the White 
House! Call Congress at 202-224-3121 for the Capitol switchboard.



TAKE ACTION NEXT WEEK: Emergency Week of Action, Aug. 7-11


During the week of Aug. 7-11, while Members of Congress are home on recess, 
organize local pressure on your Representatives and Senators to demand an 
end to support for Israel's human rights violations, an immediate 
cease-fire, a just peace, and the end of weapons deliveries to Israel.

Depending on the position of your Members of Congress, local organizers 
should decide whether a protest, vigil, meeting, or nonviolent civil 
disobedience is the most effective way to express opposition to U.S. support 
for Israel's attacks.

Your delegation should include, if possible, constituents who were evacuated 
from Lebanon so that they can provide eyewitness accounts.

Check our online calendar to find and event near you or to post details on 
an event you are organizing. If you don't see an event in your area listed, 
please check back over the next few days or organize one of your own!

Click here and here for resources on the legislation mentioned below, action 
alerts with talking points, and policy briefs and news articles on Israel's 
misuse of U.S. weapons.
Find the addresses of your Congressmembers' district offices.
You can use this template to fax a constituent meeting request to your 
Members of Congress.
Tips on how to conduct a meeting with your Members of Congress.
ISSUES TO RAISE WITH YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS:

1. Support Kucinich & Jackson-Lee Resolutions for Immediate Cease-Fire & 
Just Peace

On July 19, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introduced H.Con.Res.450, calling 
for an immediate cease-fire and multi-party negotiations with no 
preconditions. On July 25, Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) introduced 
H.Res.945, calling for the cessation of targeting civilians and civilian 
infrastructure, secure humanitarian corridors to be opened in Lebanon, an 
immediate cease-fire, and a comprehensive and just resolution to the 
Israeli-Arab conflict. Ask your Representatives to sign on as a co-sponsor 
of these resolutions, or thank them if they've already done so. Ask your 
Senators to introduce a similar resolution in the Senate. Pressure on 
Congress has already resulted in 34 Representatives signing on to the 
Kucinich resolution, while 16 have signed on to the Jackson-Lee resolution.

If your Congressperson is a member of the Out of Iraq Caucus, let them know 
you expect them to support an immediate end to the bombing of Lebanon. And 
urge them to publicly announce their support for a cease-fire now.

2. Stop U.S. Support for Israel's Attacks on Gaza and Lebanon

On July 18 and 20, the Senate and House respectively passed one-sided 
resolutions expressing unconditional support for Israel's attacks on 
civilians and civilian infrastructure in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip 
(S.Res.534 and H.Res.921). Tell your Members of Congress that the United 
States should be supporting human rights and international law, not 
expressing support for their violation. If your Representative was one of 
the few who voted no or abstained, thank them for not supporting this biased 
resolution.

3. End Weapons Deliveries to Israel Now

Over the past month, Lebanese and Palestinians civilians by the hundreds 
have been killed by Israel with U.S.-supplied weapons. By using U.S. weapons 
to kill civilians and destroy civilian infrastructure, Israel is violating 
the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), which limits the use of U.S. weapons to 
internal policing and legitimate self-defense. Instead of stopping the flow 
of weapons as required by law, the United States is rushing jet fuel and 
satellite- and laser-guided bombs to Israel. Ask your Members of Congress to 
demand from the President a report on Israel's violations of the AECA as a 
first step toward cutting off U.S. weapons to Israel.


Get Voices for Peace Into the Media


Now is the moment to help people see there is an alternative, and getting 
our voices into the media should be a central part of what we do:

For your local newspapers: Send a letter to the editor and encourage others 
to to do so; try to arrange for an op-ed piece or a guest editorial; if you 
or someone you know has been personally touched by this crisis, try to get a 
reporter to do an interview.
Call into radio talk shows: You can often talk about anything that's on your 
mind and reach thousands of people.
If you organize a visit to your member of Congress, invite a reporter to 
come with you.
Be sure to let the media know about any public educational or protest events 
you are organizing.
BACKGROUND ON QANA AND CIVILIAN DEATHS
Israeli officials are blaming Hezbollah for the Qana deaths, saying Israel 
cannot be held responsible for killing civilians in "terrorist strongholds." 
But according to Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, the 
most recent strike on Qana "suggests that the Israeli military is treating 
southern Lebanon as a free-fire zone... [and] seems to consider anyone left 
in the area a combatant who is fair game for attack." According to Human 
Rights Watch, the consistent failure to distinguish between combatants and 
civilians is a war crime.

In three weeks the Israeli government's bombing campaign has killed at least 
750 Lebanese, the vast majority civilians; made 700,000-800,000 Lebanese 
homeless; and methodically destroyed Lebanon's infrastructure. Hezbollah 
fire has killed 52 Israelis, 19 of them civilians.